Sydney school plunged into lockdown

The school where water polo coach Lilie James was murdered has been plunged into lockdown after reports a man had threatened staff.

St Andrew’s Cathedral School, located in Sydney’s CBD, was locked down by police on Monday about 9.45am after reports a person had broken into the grounds.

Parents were alerted about the lockdown by text message, the Daily Mail reported.

The man allegedly “threatened staff and then returned to the campus”, a police spokesman told NewsWire.

“The school was placed in lockdown and a search of the building, on the corner of Druitt and Kent streets, was conducted with the assistance of specialist resources,” they said.

Despite “extensive searches”, the man could not be located.

He remains on the run, but the lockdown has since been lifted, according to police.

“An investigation is now under way into the incident, and inquiries continue to locate the man,” police said.

Initial reports from 7News indicate the man was wielding a weapon at the time of the incident, though this has not been confirmed by police.

Ms James was murdered by Paul Thijssen on the evening of October 25, 2023, when he cornered her inside a bathroom of the prestigious Sydney private school where they were colleagues.

The water polo coach died due to blunt force trauma to the head after being attacked with a hammer by her ex-partner, whom she had broken up with a few days before her murder.

Hours after the murder, Thijssen took his own life at Vaucluse, with his remains found in the rocks at Diamond Bay Reserve two days after Ms James’s murder.