Students remained safe and accounted for as the district canceled buses, driving and activities while police searched for an armed suspect.
ELMORE, Ohio — Woodmore Local Schools placed its buildings under heightened security and carried out a tightly controlled dismissal Wednesday as an hourslong police manhunt unfolded in nearby Gibsonburg after an officer was stabbed.
The district said all students and employees were safe and accounted for throughout the incident. School officials initially described the response as a secondary lockdown caused by an incident in a neighboring community. As the police operation continued, the district said its schools were operating under shelter-in-place conditions and announced significant changes to the normal end of the school day.
The precautions were tied to a search in Gibsonburg, about 5 miles from the Woodmore schools, after authorities said a Gibsonburg police officer was stabbed at Union Bank on West Madison Street Wednesday morning. Police identified 25-year-old Scott Dodd Jr. as the suspect and warned residents to remain indoors while officers searched the village and nearby areas.
With the search still underway, Woodmore canceled all regular bus routes, student walking departures, high school student driving and after-school activities. The district said students would be released only to a parent, guardian or authorized transportation contact listed in its records. Adults picking up students were required to show photo identification.
High school students were scheduled for controlled pickup beginning at 2 p.m., while middle and elementary school students were scheduled for pickup beginning at 2:45 p.m. The district established specific traffic routes at the buildings to manage vehicles and asked adults to remain in their vehicles while staff members coordinated the release of students.
High school students who normally drove themselves were not permitted to leave in their vehicles without being signed out. Students traveling from Penta Career Center were to be transported to the high school and remain there until an authorized adult arrived. Staff members were to stay with students until they could be safely released.
The measures turned what would normally have been a routine dismissal into a controlled operation shaped by events outside school property. The district repeatedly stressed that the law enforcement incident was off campus and that students and employees inside its buildings were accounted for. School officials continued communicating changes to families as the police search developed.
Authorities arrested Dodd Wednesday afternoon after a search lasting more than six hours. Police said the injured Gibsonburg officer underwent surgery at a Toledo-area trauma center and was in stable condition afterward. Dodd also received medical treatment after he was taken into custody. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation into the encounter.
After dismissal was completed, Woodmore Local Schools thanked families for their cooperation and said the process had moved smoothly and efficiently. The district’s update marked the end of an unusual school day in which an emergency several miles away directly affected transportation, activities and how hundreds of students could leave campus.
The immediate security restrictions eased after the suspect was captured. Authorities continued investigating the police encounter Thursday, while Woodmore’s public updates indicated that students had been safely released following the modified dismissal procedures.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 27, 2026.