By Carol A. Clark

Los Alamos police issued a court summons to a local man Tuesday morning charging him with battery.

Matthew Story, 21, reportedly suffers from a mental handicap and attempted to choke a Los Alamos High School student who he believed had taken his paint brushes from his art class at UNM-Los Alamos in July, according to the police report.

The 15-year-old student told police that she encountered Story near the County bus stop at Diamond Drive and Canyon Road before school started Tuesday, according to the police report.

Story was angry about the loss of his paint brushes and attempted to choke the girl, but she broke away and left the scene, according to the report.

Police located Story sweeping a nearby parking lot a short time later. After speaking with him, police contacted Story’s parents who came and got him.

Police issued the summons to require Story to appear in court where the next course of action can be determined.

LAPS Superintendent Gene Schmidt addressed the situation during an interview with the Los Alamos Daily Post.

“This is very troublesome as student safety is always our number one priority,” Schmidt said. “I’ve spoken with LAHS Principal Sandy Warnock and we are doing a follow-up investigation with a debriefing of the entire event. I’ve spoken with the mother of the student, we want to determine what additional precautions may be necessary to put in place to ensure student safety.”