Man Arrested At Westfield School Had Gun, Large Cache Of Ammo: Prosecutor

The man arrested while in possession of a gun and ammunition at a Westfield grade school is a 46-year-old Delaware resident, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said Friday.

All children were safely returned to their parents following the arrest of a man with a gun at a Westfield grade school Thursday.
Photo Credit: *Westfield Public Schools*

Paul Milo

06/14/2019 11:58 a.m.

Thomas J. Wilkie, of Bear, was arrested by Westfield police shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of Tamaques Elementary School. Westfield police received a tip from police in New Castle County in Delaware that Wilkie might be armed and headed to the school, authorities said.

Students were in the building taking part in an after-school program when police apprehended Wilkie, who was found sitting in the front seat of a 2019 Mitsubishi SUV with a .45-caliber handgun, the prosecutor’s office said. The gun was loaded with hollow-point bullets.

Wilkie had two more loaded clips on him and there was an additional 130 rounds of ammunition locked in the trunk of the vehicle, authorities said.

He has been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of hollow-point bullets and trespassing. Wilkie was being held at the Union County jail and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

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