Cheltenham High School Photo by James Short.
Cheltenham Township officials are reexamining safety procedures after two recent security breaches at Cheltenham School District properties led to criminal charges, according to police.
The more serious of the two incidents occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 8, when police say a former student entered Cheltenham High School without authorization and triggered a lockdown.
The suspect, 19-year-old John Bowden, was a recent graduate who had previously been banned from school grounds. Investigators said Bowden boarded a school bus and gained access to the building before pulling the fire alarm, prompting a large emergency response from police and fire personnel.
When officers located Bowden following the incident, they discovered an airsoft replica of a MAC-10 machine gun in his backpack. The imitation weapon closely resembled a real firearm, according to police.
“Every officer thought it was a real firearm,” one responding officer told NBC10.
Police charged Bowden with multiple offenses, including possession of a weapon on school property.
Court documents show he is being held at Montgomery County Prison on $99,000 bail.
The event followed a separate security issue less than two weeks earlier, when a homeless man was discovered sleeping overnight inside a closet at the Cheltenham School District Administration Building on Sept. 25. A district employee found the individual the following morning, police said.
In a statement to NBC10, the Cheltenham School District confirmed awareness of both incidents and said it is fully cooperating with law enforcement. The district emphasized that the safety of students, staff, and faculty remains its top priority and noted that a comprehensive review of security measures is underway.
Officials declined to comment on what specific procedural changes might result from the review.
