On the afternoon of September 9, 2014, the Cathedral Catholic campus was met with an uninvited visitor. A 22-year-old, medium-built 6’1” Caucasian man came rollerblading onto campus. “He came in through the back gate, which was open because of early release for the girls golf team,” said Mr. “Anthony” Smith, a member of Cathedral’s security team. “I kept telling him ‘Hold, Hold!’ but he skated right past me. I call him ‘Rollerblader Guy’.”

“Rollerblader Guy” skated from the back gate to the front gate, and afterwards went past the library, over by the Administration Office, up the back stairs of Assisi from the North (while still wearing rollerblades), through Assisi Hall, back downstairs, and up again to Cabrini Hall.

At that point, principal Mr. Mike Deely, Anthony, and two other security guards all went to Cabrini Hall. The man came around the corner, where Spanish teacher Mr. Chris Theobald’s room is, and Anthony came at him from the other side, tackling him.

About 25 minutes later, the police arrived, and then handcuffed and arrested the man. He will be charged with trespassing and possibly disturbance of peace.

Later on, when the man was asked about his purpose on campus, he said that his GPS had misdirected him and brought him through campus. Anthony said that the man was not under the influence, and he did not seem to be on any drugs.

Religion teacher Mr. Douglas McLean mentioned to his class that after the incident, he spoke to a police officer who told him that an app had brought the trespasser to Cathedral in order to complete a challenge rollerblading on campus.

During this whole incident, which spanned approximately thirty minutes, the Cathedral campus was kept on lockdown. Students, huddled against the walls in their locked classes, speculated as to what the cause of the lockdown could be. Twitter was ablaze with ideas about the disruption, and many students started texting friends at other schools to see if they had heard anything. Popular rumors included the presence of gunmen at Torrey Pines and Canyon Crest Academy. As students were released around 2:30, photos of the police officers, golf carts, and the trespasser’s pair of rollerblades leaning against a police car flooded the social media networks.

While many students were quick to poke fun of Cathedral’s efforts to take care of the situation, citing the infamous 2013 bobcat incident as another time CCHS was viewed as being a bit overprotective, social science teacher Mr. Don De Angelo points out the gravity of the situation. “Administration handled it exactly the way that you would think they should handle it. They didn’t make assumptions, didn’t blow it off, didn’t think it was funny. They took it seriously, tried to stop him, and when they couldn’t make a clear assessment as to the level of danger, they didn’t guess. Administration did exactly what they should have done in that situation, and quite frankly, they should be applauded,” he said.

Additional security measures are being taken to ensure that such a situation will not be repeated. Security is now going to keep the gates closed during the school day, and sign off students individually when there is early dismissal for a sport or activity.

When news spread of Anthony tackling the trespasser, many students were awed by the courage Anthony demonstrated. “It was really amazing,” said senior Joe Powers. “He put the safety of others above his own, and that’s the textbook definition of bravery.”

“I didn’t really think about [tackling the rollerblader],” Anthony said. “I did it because I didn’t know what the man had with him or what his intention was. I just wanted to keep the students safe. People ask me if I like to tackle people and I say no, but I would do it any day to protect you.”

Mr. Deely expressed the same concern for the safety of Cathedral’s students. “Our first priority is keeping our campus safe,” he wrote in an address to the Dons Community. “Our thanks goes to our security team for handling the situation efficiently and professionally.”

Staff Writers AnaPaula Ramirez and Camila Ibarra Gallego contributed to this report.