10-22-2009, 06:36 AM
Gun in school
Waukegan student, 15, questioned after weapon discovered
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October 22, 2009
By KENDRICK MARSHALL <!-- e --><a href="mailto:kmarshall@scn1.com">kmarshall@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->
WAUKEGAN â Waukegan High Schoolâs Washington Street Campus was placed on lockdown for several hours Wednesday after a student was found with a gun in the building.
A 15-year-old male student was taken to the Waukegan Police Department and interviewed by authorities, said Lt. Edward Fitzgerald
As of Wednesday night the unidentified teenager was not charged.
Waukegan police officer Carlos Perez guards a door at Waukegan High School at the Washington Street Campus after telling parent Ofelia Garcia he doesn't know when the students will be let out during a lockdown at the school.
(Michael Schmidt/News-Sun)
Around 2:30 p.m., a student reported to a physical education teacher that another student in the locker room was carrying a handgun.
The teacher then contacted another school official who chased the student out of the building, where he was apprehended and an unloaded 9mm handgun was recovered, said William Newby, executive director of safety and security at the school.
The school was then placed on lockdown as a precaution while school security and police looked for a possible second gun. That weapon was not found after several hours of searching, authorities said.
Bonnie Kuss, assistant to Waukegan Superintendent Donald Bautiste, said earlier in the afternoon there was âa community issue and that no students were harmed.
All of the students were housed inside the 1011 Washington St. building until dismissal and the weapons search completed.
Just before 4 p.m. the 1,500 students exited one class at a time through metal detectors to the chagrin of concerned parents who waited nearly an hour for their children to finally trickle out of the building.
By 5 p.m., the campus was cleared of all students and officials began a locker search detail. No other weapons were uncovered.
âWe can reasonably guarantee that every crevice of the school has been checked,â Newby said.
Since students were not allowed to return to their lockers following the lockdown, Pace buses will allow students to ride to school today without a bus pass, officials said.
Because of the nature of the incident, District 60 canceled all events scheduled at the Washington Campus on Wednesday. Classes are expected to resume as scheduled today, school officials said.
The gun in the Waukegan school was the second in as many months in a Lake County high school.
On Sept. 18, three Warren Township High School students were arrested by Gurnee police after an unloaded small-caliber handgun was discovered hidden in a bathroom ceiling at the District 121 OâPlaine Campus. Three 15-year-old males from Park City, unincorporated Warren Township and Gurnee were charged in that incident.
Waukegan student, 15, questioned after weapon discovered
Comments
October 22, 2009
By KENDRICK MARSHALL <!-- e --><a href="mailto:kmarshall@scn1.com">kmarshall@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->
WAUKEGAN â Waukegan High Schoolâs Washington Street Campus was placed on lockdown for several hours Wednesday after a student was found with a gun in the building.
A 15-year-old male student was taken to the Waukegan Police Department and interviewed by authorities, said Lt. Edward Fitzgerald
As of Wednesday night the unidentified teenager was not charged.
Waukegan police officer Carlos Perez guards a door at Waukegan High School at the Washington Street Campus after telling parent Ofelia Garcia he doesn't know when the students will be let out during a lockdown at the school.
(Michael Schmidt/News-Sun)
Around 2:30 p.m., a student reported to a physical education teacher that another student in the locker room was carrying a handgun.
The teacher then contacted another school official who chased the student out of the building, where he was apprehended and an unloaded 9mm handgun was recovered, said William Newby, executive director of safety and security at the school.
The school was then placed on lockdown as a precaution while school security and police looked for a possible second gun. That weapon was not found after several hours of searching, authorities said.
Bonnie Kuss, assistant to Waukegan Superintendent Donald Bautiste, said earlier in the afternoon there was âa community issue and that no students were harmed.
All of the students were housed inside the 1011 Washington St. building until dismissal and the weapons search completed.
Just before 4 p.m. the 1,500 students exited one class at a time through metal detectors to the chagrin of concerned parents who waited nearly an hour for their children to finally trickle out of the building.
By 5 p.m., the campus was cleared of all students and officials began a locker search detail. No other weapons were uncovered.
âWe can reasonably guarantee that every crevice of the school has been checked,â Newby said.
Since students were not allowed to return to their lockers following the lockdown, Pace buses will allow students to ride to school today without a bus pass, officials said.
Because of the nature of the incident, District 60 canceled all events scheduled at the Washington Campus on Wednesday. Classes are expected to resume as scheduled today, school officials said.
The gun in the Waukegan school was the second in as many months in a Lake County high school.
On Sept. 18, three Warren Township High School students were arrested by Gurnee police after an unloaded small-caliber handgun was discovered hidden in a bathroom ceiling at the District 121 OâPlaine Campus. Three 15-year-old males from Park City, unincorporated Warren Township and Gurnee were charged in that incident.