Man entered Cambridge school before crashing car in Watertown

Officials said that the man approached a staff member at the Morse School in Cambridgeport and “asked an employee about harming children.”

FILE

A man walked into a Cambridge elementary school Monday morning and made threatening statements before crashing his vehicle in Watertown, officials said.

Cambridge police said that just before 10 a.m. Monday, the man walked into the school, “asked an employee about harming children,” and followed a staff member to their car “making nonsensical statements.”

Police spokesperson Pauline Wells said the man was suffering severe mental health issues.

Sujata Wycoff, a spokesperson for Cambridge Public Schools, confirmed that the man approached a staff member at the Morse School in Cambridgeport. She said the person was “demonstrating concerning behavior near school grounds.”

“CPD is actively investigating the incident,” Wycoff said in a statement. “At no time did this individual have any contact with students or additional staff members.”

Cambridge police said the man left the school in a vehicle and was located in traffic. However, he didn’t stop for Cambridge officers before heading into Boston. Boston police and Massachusetts State Police were notified, police said.

Later, Watertown police located the vehicle on Greenough Boulevard after a rollover crash. The driver was hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge police said.

Watertown police confirmed that they assisted State Police at the scene. A spokesperson for the State Police said two people in a second vehicle were injured and transported to Mount Auburn Hospital as a precaution.