Police say an 11-year-old student who allegedly made threats to Beach Park Middle School, prompting a hard lockdown, is being referred to the juvenile court system.
Beach Park School District 3 administration said in a letter to parents Monday afternoon that a threat was made to Beach Park Middle School on Snapchat.
The school did not say what type of threat was made but said they take “all threats seriously.” A hard lockdown was put in place.
The nature of the threat required the search of every locker in the building, which is why the lockdown took a long time, the school said.
The search was conducted in coordination with school administration and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The lockdown continued after the search was completed because the sheriff’s office was working to investigate the source of the threat.
Students who asked to use the restroom were escorted by staff to the restroom.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that an 11-year-old juvenile directed threats to the school.
He said further information on the nature of the threats was not available for release.
The student had been in attendance at the school Monday but he was not found with any weapons in his possession, Covelli said.
No weapons were found during the school search.
The lockdown was lifted after it was determined that students and staff were safe.
Covelli said the school is taking administration actions and sheriff’s deputies are referring the case to the juvenile court system.
“While we do not believe students were ever in danger, we took every necessary precaution to ensure that,” the school said in their letter to parents.
“We will debrief with teachers at the end of the day today so that they can have meaningful conversations with students tomorrow morning,” the letter said.
The school said they encourage students to say something when they see something, which is what led to Monday’s events.
“Please have a conversation with your child about the importance of reporting any suspicious activity, at the same time, please be sure your child understands the serious nature of making such threats,” the letter said.