Updated at: 11/18/2009 5:53 PM
By: Laura Kennedy
lkennedy@wdio.com

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Man Arrested Following Incident at Central

Duluth's Central High School was put on a ten minute lockdown this morning after a confrontation outside.

Police say a 25-year-old Duluth man was attempting to run over a student in the parking lot.

"It was a little scary," said Nick Lavigne, a sophomore at Central.

Police were called to the school just before nine o'clock Wednesday morning. Authorities say the school's resource officer was in the parking lot when the suspect was trying to run down the student. According to police, the officer drew her weapon and told the suspect to stop. That's when the suspect allegedly tried to run down the officer as well. Inside the school, Lavigne says he and his fellow classmates were confused about what took place.

"I don't think anybody really knew what was going on," he said. "I think most of us thought it was just a drill or something like that."

Lavigne says that's when the lockdown announcement came over the loudspeaker, telling students this was not a drill and they should take it seriously.

"They turned off all the lights, they locked the doors and we went into a corner," Lavigne said. "I think people were just shocked. No one really knew what to expect. I could tell people were kind of nervous."

According to police, the suspect was driving a maroon Chevy Tahoe. Police took the man into custody shortly after the incident in an alley behind an East 7th Street home. Authorities say the suspect was transported to the St. Louis County Jail. He's being held on two counts of attempted second degree murder and second degree assault. It is Eyewitness News' policy not to name a suspect until they've been formally charged.

Police say the school's surveillance system captured a good portion of the incident.

Central High School parents were notified of the incident and lockdown through an autocall system. District Spokesperson Katie Kaufman says this is standard protocol during any lockdown situation. But some concerned parents did call the school to make sure their kids were safe.