Parents concerned after armed intruder breaks into Pasadena's St. Philip the Apostle School

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A break-in by an armed intruder at St. Philip the Apostle School in Pasadena Thursday morning is causing concern among parents.

According to an e-mail obtained by Eyewitness News, Principal Jennifer Ramirez told parents the intruder broke in through the exterior of a girls' restroom by picking a lock with a knife and possibly another tool. The suspect was on the campus for about 15 minutes, the principal said in the e-mail.

The suspect left the restroom, went down a hallway and left the campus after an alarm sounded, leaving a large kitchen knife in the restroom, later discovered by children.

The principal says school security cameras were reviewed.

"After reviewing the footage they realized that there was an intruder and called the police," parent Sergio Alfaro said. "The police showed up immediately. They did a full investigation."

So far, police have not released the video or a suspect description. Alfaro says that bothers him.

"We should see what he looks like," Alfaro said. "We should all know what he looks like, so hopefully we can capture him."

Pasadena police will only say it's too early in the investigation to release the video and don't want to jeopardize the outcome.

In the e-mail, the principal said:

"I want to assure you that students were never in any danger. The safety of students and staff is extremely important to us."

Parents say they received another e-mail Thursday evening from the school's principal, stressing that the intruder was not hiding in the girl's bathroom and that there was no students or staff on campus when the intruder was there.