A 36-year-old man in the midst of a serious mental health crisis scared students and staff at Pennsbury High School East, Tuesday morning, when he tried to enter the school as students and staff arrived for classes and police discovered as a result of their investigation that he also raised the state flag on a school flag pole.
Judge Corryn Kronnagel arraigned Christopher R. Rushforth at 11:35 a.m. on Tuesday morning on one felony count of criminal trespass. He also received a summary ticket for defiant trespass on school grounds. He was remanded to Bucks County Prison in lieu of $150,000.00/10% cash bail with an attached condition of no contact with Pennsbury schools.
According to police, at 7:15 a.m. Falls Twp Police were dispatched to Pennsbury High School (PHS) East, 705 Hood Blvd, Fairless Hills, for a suspicious incident. Bucks County Police Radio (BCPR) reported that a Pennsbury High School employee observed a white male driving a black sedan, and the subject asked the employee about the students, court records show. .
Officer Hall arrived on scene, and spoke with Zachary Morris, the PHS employee who reported the following in summary: At approximately 7:00 a.m., the employee observed a white male subject, later identified as Rushforth. He was wearing a camouflage shirt, and paced around school property. Rushfort approached the PHS employee, and asked how he could get involved with the students. Rushfort, according to the probable cause, said he wanted to be a coach. He then asked about transgender students, and school safety. Rushforth was acting erratic, appeared to be under the influence of narcotics, or experiencing a mental health crisis. He then entered a black 2002 Toyota Camry, bearing Pennsylvania registration HWK7466, and circled the parking lot twice, before exiting onto Hood Blvd.
Police searched the area, but did not initially find him, police wrote in court papers.
An officer was approached by a second Pennsbury High School employee. He reported that at approximately 7:20 a.m., his students had arrived at school for basketball practice and were approached by Rushforth. He asked them about the high school’s security system and asked if he could come inside with them. They said no, according to the probable cause.
The students immediately told the PHS employee about the Rushforth interaction, court records show.
At approximately 7:45 a.m., police observed Rushforth standing at the corner entrance to PHS East Campus and Hood Blvd. An officer approached Rushforth, who stated that he did nothing wrong and attempted to flee. However, he was quickly apprehended, placed into custody and placed in the rear of a patrol vehicle, police said.
He was transported from the school’s campus to Burger King’s rear parking lot, according to the probable cause.
Rushforth was read his Miranda Rights, and asked if he understood them. He answered yes. He was asked if he wanted to speak with the police. He allegedly said yes. Ofc. Hall inquired of Rushforth. If he was on school property, he replied “yes”. Ofc. Hall asked him why he was on school property. He said, according to police, he was worried about the school’s security systems, due to an influx of drugs, and worried about the students. Rushforth, according to police, proceeded to ramble on about non-pertinent information, and stated that he was a citizen of the earth. He continued to say that God put him here for a reason. Ofc. Hall formed the opinion Rushforth was suffering a psychotic break as evidenced by his responses and erratic behavior. Ofc. Hall asked him if he had taken any narcotics or used any substances, to which he said no. Rushforth continued, police said, to state that he did nothing wrong, and repeated that he was on campus to assure students’ safety.
At approximately 9:30 a.m., Rushforth was transported to Police Headquarters and escorted into an interview room. While in the interview room, he admitted to pulling on the front door “to check if it was locked”, according to court records.
Another Falls Twp. police olicer went to the Pennsbury East campus, while the other officer supervised a man in an apparent behavioral health crisis.
The officer, according to court records, was shown video surveillance by Pennsbury employees that showed the following in summary according to the probable cause filed by police:
A vehicle with white wording on the back windshield pulled into view at 6:14 a.m. It stopped adjacent to Pennsbury High School East’s front doors. After approximately one minute, the vehicle was parked in an open parking spot. Rushforth exited the vehicle, walked over to the flagpole, and then up towards the front doors. It was clear that he attempted to enter the front doors of the school at approximately 6:20 a.m. by pulling the handle (on the “A” side) of main campus doors. Rushforth continued to walk around the property until he was out of the initial camera view. At approximately 7:07 a.m., he returned to view of the initial camera, and entered his vehicle. Rushforth left the property and turned right onto Hood Blvd.
Police spoke with a third PHS employee. She said, according to court records, that she normally arrives in her vehicle at 6:15 a.m. She parks in the loading dock and enters through that door. This morning she drove into work at Pennsbury High School East. She then parked in her usual space and noticed Rushforth walking in camo on campus. She heard him mumbling to himself, and he turned towards the loading dock area. This scared her, and she ran inside the school.
Another PHS employee told officers a Pennsylvania State Flag was put on the PHS flagpole overnight. The flag was retrieved by police and taken into evidence, according to the probable cause,
Officers also checked the school campus for warning signs about entering and trespassing. They noted the wording on signs on the campus in the probable cause shown below.
“Welcome to Pennsbury High School East Campus. All visitors must show valid identification. Please sign in at the desk. Thank you.”
“Important; You must have PHOTO ID to enter this building.”
“ALL VISITORS MUST SIGN IN HERE.”
“Pennsbury School Dist. NO
Loitering
Motor Vehicles
Alcoholic Beverages
Use of grounds without permits
Violators subject to prosecution by order of the School Board.”
Investigators spoke with Rushforth again, according to court records, at Police Headquarters. The interview was recorded. Police removed his handcuffs and he was then read his Miranda Rights. Rushforth signed the form that he understood his rights, and agreed to speak with police without an attorney present. Rushforth in the interview told police he suffers from psychosis, and has not slept in approximately 1 – 2 days. During Tuesday’s early morning hours, he went to Pennsbury High School East before the school opened. He raised the Pennsylvania State Flag on the flagpole. He also admitted to speaking with PHS employees and trying to open a door to PHS East.
Shortly after Rushforth’s arrest Pennsbury School District officials released a statement to the community on its socials (see below).
