PEMBROKE – Joanna Hunt, the principal at Pembroke Elementary School, said Wednesday had started out as a normal day on the campus.

“It was nothing out of the ordinary that morning,” she said a day later. “I stopped and talked to some staff members, and then I went around back for car duty. I had started my morning off pretty routinely.”

She had no idea what would transpire over the next hour or so: A man – identified by authorities as Martell T. Scott, 30, of Red Springs – entered the school that morning with a loaded weapon on the heels of a domestic violence assault.

The Public Schools of Robeson County’s Policy 4333 outlines prohibited behaviors on school campuses including weapons and clearly states that such behaviors will not be tolerated.

The elementary school of 707 students, who are enrolled in grades pre-K through fifth, is one of the largest in the Public Schools of Robeson County district, she said. It was established in 1980.

“We were in the midst of a busy time of day for us,” recalled the 50-year-old Hunt, who has served as the principal at Pembroke Elementary since 2018.

At 7:48 a.m., she got the phone call alerting her to an emergency situation that needed to be defused.

“So we were in the midst of students arriving on campus,” she said. “I was outside with the car riders, and they came in through the front entrance. The assistant principal (Hattena Scott) was up here doing bus duty. Students riding buses. We have a certain population of students who are dropped off up front. And she was assisting in all of that.

“And it’s not uncommon for a parent to come in if they have an appointment with someone,” Hunt added. “We only allow pre-K parents to walk up. So pre-K parents are walking up, dropping off their babies.”

When Hunt got word of the intruder, she said, she immediately started heading towards the front of the school. ”At first, I was sort of like jogging a little bit, and I heard people making comments, ‘Uh-oh, that’s not a good sign.’ So I said you’ve got to stay calm and not create a panic throughout the building because I had to come from the other side of the building. So I sort of just slowed my pace down, and I heard.my P.E. teacher (Danyel Joliceur) say, ‘I’m coming behind you,’ although she had no clue what was going on. She just knew something was wrong.”

At that point, the assistant principal called Hunt back and said, “Please hurry.”

She told her, ‘I’m coming. I’m coming.’ “

Hunt asked if 911 been called. Student safety, she said, was her initial thought: “We’ve got to get up there and get everybody safe.”

The school system said earlier this week that Scott had entered the building by following a parent.

According to the district, “It was immediately reported to administrators and a call to 911 was made. School staff contained the individual to the front office area.”

Hunt cited social worker Michelle Oxendine as a school hero during the scare.

Oxendine was the one who got the gun from Scott.

“She approached him in the lobby once she had been observing his behavior,” Hunt said. “So, she finally felt confident enough to go over and say, ‘You need to give me the gun.’ And he handed it over.”

“We’re just blessed a lot of people — just doing their job going above and beyond in that moment — led to a successful outcome,” said Hunt.

Scott was apprehended and charged with felonious restraint, robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault by pointing a gun, communicating threats, assault with a deadly weapon in the presence of a minor and possession of a firearm.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the retrieval of the weapon and arrest are the result of a domestic violence assault that took place before the arrival of the suspect at the school.

Hunt said Scott was in the car with the parent he followed into the building.

“Really, no, other than she was just seeking help,” the principal said when asked if she knew why the suspect had come to the school after his involvement in a domestic violence incident. “I don’t know why he came in with her.”

There had been something that took place on the ride to the school, Hunt said. So, she was thinking “Help.”

Hunt said she was unsure what their relationship was: “No, they were not married or related.”

She also said she was not familiar with Scott, who was placed in the custody of the Robeson County Detention Center without bond.

According to Hunt, there has been a lot of reflection from the staff since Wednesday, the day of the incident.

“Oh, yes. We met this morning and just processed everything and discussed how we responded,” she said. “Just brainstorming and revamping some things. Being on a high alert with people coming in and out of the building

“I think that will always be in the back of everyone’s mind that was involved yesterday,” she continued, “because it was definitely a team effort.”

The students, she noted, were unaware of the situation as it occurred.

“Everything was handled so quickly and so calmly the students did not know anything was happening,” she said. “We, at the school, are thankful for the quick thinking of my staff. We’re grateful that things did not take a turn for the worse. There weren’t any casualties. We’re blessed.we’re here today to be able to reflect on it, and we’re not somewhere mourning and grieving. It could have gone a whole different way. We’ve been very thankful today.”