GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – All four schools placed on lockdown during Tuesday's murders of three people and potential standoff with the killer were back on normal schedule Wednesday, but the elementary school where the children of two of the victims attended was deeply affected by the tragedy.
Green Cove Spring police say Murray Lancaster, the man who killed his ex-wife, his ex-girlfriend and her father before killing himself, started his day at Charles Bennett Elementary School by trying to get a message to his children.
Lancaster had two children with Erica Green Lancaster before they divorced.
Police are still trying to learn how school officials turned him away, while parents are giving the Clay County Scholl District good marks on how it responded to the crisis.
Many parents at Charles Bennett, Clay High School, Green Cove Springs Junior High and Bannerman Learning Center said it was difficult getting information during the lockdown. While they might have preferred to check their children out of school during the crisis, they knew the Clay County School District did everything they could to keep the students safe.
One of Parth Dave's two children is friend with one of Lancaster's children.
"Actually, me and my girlfriend set them down and talked to them about it," Dave said. "They were completely understanding. They had some questions they were asking, why and what. I had to answer them, but, luckily, they were very understanding about the situation, so I'm very thankful for that."
The school had grief counselors on campus Wednesday to help any child or teacher who was having problems processing what happened.
School officials are also reviewing the lockdown system, which has children shelter in place until law enforcement gives an all clear. On Tuesday, because the gunman was found dead close to dismissal time, parents were not allowed to pick up their children until the scene was clear.
"As you can imagine, the phones were ringing off the hook. Parents were worried about their children," Green Cove Springs Police spokeswoman Kimberly Robinson said. "The school district did an outstanding job keeping the kids safe. They made sure they were fed, they were occupied, just so the kids didn't get fearful. The kids were calm. And that's the most important message I want to send out to the parents."
Dave and other parents agreed the schools handled the situation well.
"They actually did a wonderful job making sure everyone was safe," Dave said. "They were probably safer there than me coming and picking them up and making a big old scene. So I respected that."
Clay County officials said Tuesday's killings and manhunt would even affect garbage collection in the area.
Because one of the deaths took place at the Rosemary Hill Solid Waste Facility, the site was closed. Residents were asked to place their garbage cans, recycling bins and yard waste at the curb on the normal schedule, but some customers might experience a one-day delay in their normal pickup schedules.