Two schools locked down as suspicious man eludes authorities in Hanahan, Goose Creek

Police officers and deputies chasing a suspicious man through Hanahan and Goose Creek neighborhoods prompted the lockdown of two schools this afternoon, according to authorities.

School officials at Sedgefield Intermediate and Goose Creek High, which are both near Garwood and Red Bank roads, made the move as a precaution. They received no direct threats, and the police said they were never in danger.

The measure has since been lifted.

The ordeal began about 1:30 p.m. when a resident spotted a man carrying items through a backyard on Painted Bunting Way, which is off Foster Creek Road, according to Hanahan Police Department Lt. Michael Fowler.

The resident called the police and used her car to follow the suspected burglar, Fowler said. She saw the man first hide behind a neighborhood sign, then climb into a vehicle.

But she continued to follow him.

Deputies from the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office eventually caught up with the vehicle. But when it came to a stop, the man jumped from the passenger seat and ran.

Fowler said deputies chased the man, but lost him. Goose Creek police officers got in on the action, but they lost him, too, Fowler said.

“To make a long story short, he got away,” Fowler said.

Hanahan police detectives and Sheriff’s Office investigators planned to speak with the driver of the vehicle in an attempt to figure out the man’s identity.

Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dan Moon said school administrators made the decision to lock down the buildings when they saw all the hubbub.

Reach Andrew Knapp at 937-5414 or twitter.com/offlede.