A MS Coast man has been arrested for breaking into a school while living there over the weekend, authorities say

Ocean Springs police arrested a 46-year-old man this month and accused him of breaking into Ocean Springs Upper Elementary and living in an attic for a weekend.

Jared Ian Sumrall was being held without bail this week in the Jackson County Jail for commercial burglary. Police arrested Sumrall a week before the break-in for another local burglary, and he was out of jail on bond when he allegedly walked into the elementary school, Ocean Springs Deputy Chief Steven Dye said.

The Ocean Springs School District said Sumrall broke down on Saturday, Nov. 9, and left Monday morning. Police identified Sumrall from school video surveillance and arrested him again on Nov. 12 in Biloxi.

The Ocean Springs School District said Sumrall never crossed paths with students.

“They were in no danger,” said Trey Brennan, the district’s director of communications. “We’re very confident about that.”

Sumrall is accused of jumping a fence and climbing through an escape hatch on the school’s roof, Brennan said. He ended up in an attic that maintenance crews use to fix HVAC systems and stayed there most of the weekend, according to the district.

Brennan said the school has since repaired the vent so “it’s no longer a possible point of entry.”

The break-in did not set off security alarms because the suspect stayed inside a building and never used the entrance or exit doors, Brennan said. He apparently slept in the attic and briefly walked the halls. Police believe Sumrall stole an iPad, chips, gum, kinetic sand and Lego toys from a teacher’s classroom, Dye said.

The teacher noticed the items were missing Monday morning and told school administration, Brennan said. Someone also found a pair of jeans in one of the school sinks.

The findings forced students to shelter in place as a precaution at 10:18 a.m. Monday morning while police swept the campus, the district said in a letter to parents. Classes continued as normal, but no one was allowed to enter the classrooms. The shelter in place lasted just over an hour.

Officers found clothing and a Bible in the attic, Brennan said. The district said Sumrall was not on campus when police searched the buildings.

Sumrall is homeless and known to local police, Dye said. He said Sumrall had been arrested the week before and charged with shoplifting at Empowered Pathways, a behavioral therapy service in Ocean Springs. Police could not immediately verify whether Sumrall had any prior felony convictions.

Brennan said the district has “zero evidence” that Sumrall was on campus before Nov. 9. The district is still investigating how the suspect ended up on the roof.

Some students were on campus for activities that weekend but stayed in a different building, separated by a closed gate and locked doors, Brennan said. The elementary school campus has several connected buildings, and surveillance footage shows no evidence the suspect tried to get to them, according to the district.

The Ocean Springs School District Police Department and the Ocean Springs Police Department are still investigating. Brennan said the district is doing a full inventory to make sure it’s not missing anything else.

“Regardless of the rumors spread on social media, the individual did not have access to students and staff,” Brennan said Friday. “At no time was he ever in contact with students and staff. We were able to sweep the building completely and make sure he wasn’t on campus and wasn’t a threat.”

Sumrall could face up to seven years in prison if convicted of burglary.