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By MEG HERNDON | Staff Writer

CALERA – The final juvenile suspect involved in the Tuesday, May 17 police chase in Calera was arrested Tuesday evening.

“The final suspect involved in today’s search was located after a citizen called in with information,” read a statement from Chief David Hyche on the Calera Police Department’s Facebook page. “As has become the norm, Calera citizens step up and make their community safer.”

The juvenile suspect was one of six suspects the CPD was searching for following a police chase that began around 11 a.m. on May 17 after the CPD received a call from a citizen stating a vehicle at a gas station was involved in drug activity.

All six juvenile suspects will be referred for prosecution in Shelby County’s juvenile system, and it is the CPD’s understanding that charges might also be pending in the Atlanta area.

Hyche expressed his gratitude to Calera residents for actively helping to make Calera a safer community.

“All cities have crime, but not all cities have the success we have in stopping and preventing crime,” Hyche said. “This success doesn’t happen without proactive police and proactive citizens.”

The police chase led to the suspects wrecking and fleeing on foot. The CPD responded and set up a perimeter with help from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, after which, three juvenile suspects were arrested, and the other three were still in the woods.

During the search for the last three suspects, the police alerted Calera Elementary School and Calera Intermediate School that a police chase was in close proximity to the schools, which led to the schools going into a soft lockdown or a Secure Perimeter status.

A Secure Perimeter status is an alert method that lets students and staff know there is a potential threat within the community, and all parties should react as needed. Parents were asked not to come to the school to check students out unless necessary.

The schools were later dismissed around 3:40 p.m. following updates from the CPD.

“Thank you for your patience as we have worked to ensure the safety of the students,” an email from Calera Elementary School read. “We also thank the Calera PD for their commitment to the safety of our community.”

Hyche thanked the community for its patience and understanding as the chase occurred throughout the day.

“Our first and primary goal was setting up a perimeter between the suspects and our schools,” Hyche said. “We also stationed officers at and near our schools even though this initially occurred a mile and a half away. Catching suspects is important, but making sure the children are protected is priority number one.”

Hyche also thanked ALEA ground and air, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office ground and air, Montevallo Police Department, Chilton County Sheriff’s Office deputies and its K9 deputies and the State Drug Task Force for their assistance with the search.