Man accused of breaking into Jennings High caught after hours-long manhunt; school to resume Tuesday

JENNINGS, La. (KPLC) - A man accused of breaking into Jennings High School early Monday morning has been arrested after a manhunt lasting more than 12 hours.

Dillon M. Champagne, 37, is accused of breaking into the school and threatening staff with a firearm early this morning. He was caught near La. 97 and the Jaenke Bridge, Jennings police announced at 7 p.m.

All Jennings schools will be in session Tuesday, Jeff Davis Supt. John Hall said.

“Someone off the interstate who ran out of fuel walked onto campus. They followed one of our custodians in as he was throwing trash. He did have a gun. The custodian actually confronted him then pointed him out, showed him out, even with the gun,” Hall said. “The person went to our practice field. We had two employees who were walking at the time. He confronted one of our employees, the other employee was coming to meet the first one. He was looking for a set of keys, so he confronted her, then pulled a gun.”

The school board said they were notified around 5:30 a.m. that the suspect was spotted coming from the ag shop area of the campus and heading towards the interstate.

Hall said that after they received word of the man being near the high school, the school board made the decision to cancel class for the safety of students and staff.

Police Chief Danny Semmes said the police department received a 911 call from the school around 5:45 a.m. in which no one was speaking. Officers were then dispatched to the school where they were told that the suspect had entered the school and been approached by a staff member. When approached, Champagne took out a firearm and attempted to take the staff member’s car keys before fleeing into the wooded area near the school.

Officers deployed drones and the Jennings Police Department’s K-9 unit to assist in the search alongside the Louisiana State Police’s Aviation unit.

An arrest warrant was issued by District Judge Gunnell for Champagne for the following counts:

• Theft of a motor vehicle
• Aggravated burglary
• Aggravated assault with a firearm
• Aggravated armed robbery
• Possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a felony.

Two high school baseball games scheduled in Jennings were moved to other locations.

Lake Arthur at Jennings has been moved to Heritage Field in Crowley.

Hathaway vs. Gueydan was also scheduled in Jennings but was moved to Gueydan.

“I just feel it’s not safe to continue to have outdoor activities in the area until I get a better update,” Hall said earlier today. “Today’s not the day to have kids outside.”

Superintendent Hall released the following statement this morning:

“I would like to thank everyone for their support and patience in the early morning hours today. Employee and student safety will always be a priority. Canceling school is always a difficult decision, but with the information that was gathered in a short amount of time, I didn’t want any of our staff or students in the area. Law enforcement is still at Jennings High and collecting information. The person of interest has been identified. JHS was not targeted but, unfortunately, was located by the person who ran out of fuel on the interstate.

“As of now, we are waiting on JHS to be released back to us. JHS baseball is scheduled for a game at 6:00, I will update everyone by early afternoon once we have more information to make a decision about our game tonight. I will also confirm later today on the status of JHS opening tomorrow. Once again, thank you for all the support you have shown to our staff, students, and school system. I will keep you posted.”