Man Arrested After Threats Prompt Southampton School Lockdown
Southampton Township schools returned to normal on November 12 after state police took Mark Cozens into custody. The district had ordered a precautionary shelter-in-place on November 10 because of concerns about the neighbor, whose property borders the school campus. The district serves about 700 students in pre-K through eighth grade across three buildings.
Superintendent Megan Geibel said Cozens drove around the district’s administration building twice in separate vehicles on November 10. The episode followed distressing emails he sent after state police contacted him about loud music disrupting classrooms. Geibel said the emails did not make specific threats against the schools, but raised concerns he might harm himself or others. A warrant charging Cozens with terroristic threats was issued on November 10.
The concerns followed an October 7 incident in which children at an after-school program heard gunshots while playing outside. Geibel said the children were brought into lockdown while police investigated, then determined Cozens had been target shooting on his property, an activity allowed under township law. He was arrested on October 14 and accused of firing a gun recklessly and endangering others.
The district has asked the township to restrict firearm use within 1,000 yards of school property. A draft ordinance was first discussed at an October 20 township committee meeting. Geibel said an additional armed security guard remained at the school on November 12, alongside the armed guard and state police school resource officer already there. She said the district would continue sharing information it was permitted to release.
School Lockdown Exposes Gaps in Gun-Safety Rules
A school community’s fears did not begin with the November 10 shelter-in-place. Southampton Township students had heard gunshots during an October 7 after-school program, when Cozens was target shooting on his property beside campus. Police determined the shooting was legal under township rules, and children were put into lockdown while officers investigated.
Cozens was arrested on October 14 on charges related to reckless firearm discharge and endangering others. Later, distressing emails and his visits around the administration building prompted a fresh safety response. Superintendent Megan Geibel said the emails did not specifically threaten the schools, but caused concern that Cozens could harm himself or others. A terroristic-threats charge was issued on November 10, and he was taken into custody two days later.
The district has asked the township to prohibit gun use within 1,000 yards of school property. That proposal, first discussed on October 20, addresses a gap exposed by the shooting near children: conduct permitted by existing rules can still leave families frightened and schools scrambling to protect students.
Classes resumed on November 12, with an additional armed guard on site alongside the existing armed guard and state police school resource officer. The district serves about 700 students. The proposed restriction remains a central question for the township as the community weighs how to keep school grounds safe.
Arrest Ends School Lockdown as District Seeks Gun Restrictions
Southampton Township schools lifted a two-day shelter-in-place after state police took Cozens into custody on November 12. The response followed concerning emails and repeated drives around the administration building, but Superintendent Megan Geibel said the emails did not contain specific threats against the schools.
The case also includes an October 7 episode in which students at an after-school program heard gunshots. Police determined Cozens was target shooting on his property, which township law permits. He was arrested on October 14 and accused of firing a gun recklessly and endangering others. A separate terroristic-threats charge was issued on November 10.
The district now wants the township to bar firearm use within 1,000 yards of school property. A draft was first discussed on October 20. The proposal would impose a broad new restriction in response to an incident that authorities determined involved legally permitted target practice—not a shooting at the school.
The district serves about 700 students and kept an extra armed security guard at the campus on November 12, in addition to its regular armed guard and state police school resource officer. The episode underscores the importance of a measured response: protect students from credible danger while distinguishing alarming circumstances from a specific threat to the schools.
Reported by 6abc Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
