The parents and grandparents of 7-year-old Ahkeem Brown Jr. are glad he’s home safe today. On Tuesday afternoon, Brown left Steelton Elementary school in the middle of the day. “He was gone and they did not know,” said Ahkeem’s mother, Danielle Potts. His grandmother, Carol Brown, said, “this is not acceptable.”
Brown was found roughly two miles away from the school on Harrisburg Street, where someone saw him running on the side of the road and called the police. The responding officers that found him on the side of the road said he looked disheveled and was pouring sweat. "I got him some water and calmed him down a little bit, and we sat in the car and talked, trying to get some more information," said Steelton Police Officer James Souder. That's when they united Brown with his Grandmother. "She immediately began crying, she was just extremely happy to get him returned," said Troy Elhajj, who is also a Steelton Police Officer.
Steelton Highspire School District Superintendent Ellen Castagneto said, "student safety is a top priority and school officials have started working on increasing the security around the boundaries of the playground." It is believed Ahkeem was last at the playground before leaving school property.
The Brown's say the school needs to go further. "We need some more safety up there, we need them teachers to be on their P's and Q's about these kids," said Ahkeem's mother. His grandmother said, "you should have cameras everywhere. These are young little kids, I shouldn't have to wonder what happened with my son."