Two Ripon schools were locked down on Tuesday morning after a theft suspect being pursued by Ripon Police officers was spotted on the Ripon High campus.

According to authorities, 23-year-old Stockton resident Jordan Anderson was suspected of attempting to steal a generator from Schemper’s Ace Hardware – which is diagonally across from the Ripon Police Department – and fled the area towards the direction of Ripon Christian Elementary School when officers arrived.

After repositioning themselves at the school in order to make sure that the students on campus at Ripon Christian remained safe, officers were alerted that staff at Ripon High School saw Anderson on their campus – triggering a lockdown at both that site and neighboring Ripon Elementary School.

And Ripon High School Principal Keith Rangel wasn’t taking any chances when it came to the safety of his students.

Video was widely shared on social media that showed Anderson on top of a portable classroom at Ripon High while a man – identified as Rangel – stood at the bottom and prepared for him to jump down. As the lockdown siren blared on campus, Rangel made an attempt to take Anderson down and helped push him towards officers that were on scene – forcing him onto the playground area of Ripon Elementary School where he armed himself with a sharp wooden object and threatened to harm himself.

Officers chose to deploy a less-than-lethal device to immobilize him so that he could be taken into custody. The Ripon Fire Department responded to the scene for a medical evaluation. Anderson was taken to an area hospital to be cleared prior to being booked into the San Joaquin County Jail.

As news of the arrest broke and the video of the near-takedown of the suspect began to circulate on social media, dozens of commenters praised Rangel as a hero for his selfless actions to help corner the suspect as well as the officers who ended the tense pursuit and on-campus situation peacefully.

Anderson is currently being held on $10,000 bail on a pair of misdemeanor charges – shoplifting and resisting arrest. He is due in court at the Manteca branch of the San Joaquin County Superior Court on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.