St Helena Secondary College and the adjacent Glen Katherine Primary School, in Eltham North, went into lockdown around 1.00pm.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that police said they received reports the man had been seen carrying a chainsaw on Parry Road, which leads to the entrance of both schools.
They found the man at a house nearby, and later said he had been arrested around 3:30pm.
He was taken to hospital for assessment.
Acting Senior Sergeant Coles Dods said the police Critical Incident Response Team entered the house peacefully and, after “great negotiations and patience”, the man surrendered.
“He was in quite a confused state of mind and so he’s going to be taken to hospital to be checked out,” he said.
It was the last day of term for both schools and senior students at St Helena’s were due to finish school at 1:00pm, but parents were told not to pick them up until police advised it was safe.
Simone Plummer, a parent of a child at Glen Katherine Primary, said parents were told there was a “suspicious person” near the secondary college’s grounds.
“It’s definitely concerning and there’s lots of police there so I think they were surrounding him to try and catch him,” she told the ABC.
“It sort of feels like something that wouldn’t happen in Australia but I suppose the safest thing to do is keep them in the school.”
In a statement, Victoria Police said: “Police have arrested a man in Eltham following reports he was observed allegedly with a chainsaw on Parry Road about 1pm.
“No one was injured during the incident.”
“The man was arrested at an address on Parry Road without further incident and will be taken to hospital for assessment.”
Images and video courtesy ABC News and Ten News First.
