Police say a woman has been arrested after she and a man forced their way into John Lewis Middle School in Waukegan before punching a student in the face and attacking staff members.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 7:12 a.m. Tuesday to John Lewis Middle School, 600 South Lewis Avenue, for a report of a battery.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said officers learned that an aunt of a student and an adult male went to the school.
Angel S. Terry, 29, of Waukegan, intended to confront another student about a previous altercation with her niece, Chastain said.
School staff attempted to stop Terry and the male from entering the school but were battered by them in the process.
The two subjects made it into the school where Terry battered a student by punching him in the face, Chastain said.
The adult male suspect, whose identity has not been released, battered a staff member and a teacher.
The staff member and teacher were both injured. The student was uninjured.
Terry and the male suspect fled the scene in a blue Nissan before police arrived.
Officers responded to a location in Waukegan and located the suspect vehicle, a blue 2015 Nissan, along with Terry.
Terry was arrested and refused to cooperate with officers in the investigation, Chastain said.
She was charged with aggravated battery to a school employee and battery causing bodily harm.
“We want to commend staff for their handling of today’s incident. They responded immediately upon seeing unknown individuals attempting to enter the building, and they worked to protect our students from harm,” Co-Principals Molly Schaefer and Amanda Nault said in a message to parents.
School officials called the situation “disturbing and disappointing.”
“As a school community we expect our Lewis students to behave themselves in a respectful and responsible manner. Needless to say, we expect the same from our visiting adults as well. As adults we must do a better job of modeling appropriate behavior for our children,” the message said.
Terry is expected to appear in court Wednesday morning. The male suspect is not in custody.