District 300 Releases Additional Information Regarding Dundee-Crown Lockdown

In cooperation with the Carpentersville Police Department, District 300 sent the following phone message out at 12:30 p.m. today to all its contacts at Dundee Crown High School and Perry Elementary School, both in Carpentersville. 

“Good afternoon.  This is the Assistant Superintendent of School for  District 300, calling with an important message regarding Dundee-Crown High School and Perry Elementary School.  In cooperation with the local police, District 300 is currently conducting a Shelter-In-Place operation at Dundee-Crown and Perry. 

This is not a drill.  District 300 took this preventative safety measure because of a text message that reportedly included a potential threat against the school.  We initially put the school on a Code Red Lockdown, but we downgraded to a Shelter in Place on the recommendation of the police. 

We are monitoring the situation closely and will keep the school on a Shelter In Place until authorities have advised us that the situation has been fully resolved.  We ask that parents limit their phone calls and text messages to their children, so that academic and safety instructions can continue in a calm, controlled manner.  When the situation is resolved, we will send another automated voice message.  Thank you.”

Background Information on Code Red Lockdown, Shelter in Place

For background information, a “Code Red Lock-down” means that children have been brought indoors, no one is being allowed to enter or exit the building, and the classrooms have been locked and darkened.  

A “Shelter in Place” is a lower-level security measure, which means that the entrances and exits are tightly secured, but that activities can go on as normal inside the school.

Both the Code Red and Shelter in Place procedures are routinely practiced at all D300 schools, in cooperation with local authorities. 

Today’s implementation of these procedures was extremely smooth, thanks to the ongoing vigilance of D300 students and staff and the close cooperation with local authorities. 

Additional Information on Lockdown

A joint District 300 and Carpentersville Police Department press release sent out Friday provided the following additional information regarding the incident: 

• Roughly 11:15 a.m. today: The Carpentersville Police Liaison Officer at Dundee-Crown High School received information that a DCHS senior had threatened via text message to a peer to bring a gun onto campus.  The school was immediately put onto a Code Red Lock-down, as was nearby Perry Elementary School due to the close proximity of the two schools. 
• Officers immediately began a protective sweep of Dundee-Crown.  Other officers investigated the whereabouts of the student who allegedly made the threat.  Additional investigation by police and school administrators indicated that the student had allegedly made the threat following an altercation this morning at Dundee-Crown with another student.
• The district got an emergency message ready to send to families at DCHS and Perry Elementary schools regarding the Code Red Lock-Down.  However, as soon as the message was ready to send, the situation had been downgraded to a Shelter in Place by police and the situation was rapidly changing. Officers had been able to make contact with that student off-campus by telephone around 12 noon.  The student returned home and surrendered to police.
• At roughly 1 p.m., both schools were taken off of Shelter in Place status by police, whose investigation did not indicate there was an actual weapon.  

Source: District 300 press release