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Student brings knife on bus to Naperville's Hill Middle School

A student at Naperville's Hill Middle School brought a knife on a school bus Friday, but no one was hurt or threatened, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officials said.

"We had a student make a poor decision and bring an X-ACTO knife on a bus on the way to school today," Hill Principal Mike Dutdut said in a recorded voice message and email to parents.

Students notified staff members who called Naperville police, the principal's message said, and the school is taking unspecified disciplinary action against the student.

"We appreciate that our students acted responsibly and notified us immediately so we could respond," Dutdut said in the message to parents. "We encourage you to discuss with your child the importance of making good decisions to keep our school safe."

The name of the student who had the knife was not released. Naperville police Sgt. Bill Davis said he had no information on the case because a report was not complete Friday afternoon.

News of the student bringing a knife on the bus came four days after principals at Hill and the nearby Brookdale Elementary sent emails to parents attempting to quell what they called "rumors" of a knife being brought to Hill on April 8. District spokeswoman Janet Buglio said Friday's knife case is not related to the previous one.

In the earlier case, a boy who is not a Hill student was charged with assault and aggravated assault after witnesses told Naperville police they saw him wielding a knife. A knife never was recovered, authorities said, and the principal's message sent Monday made that clear.

"I am aware there are rumors circulating of an alleged knife being brought to school," reads the email sent Monday by Dutdut and Brookdale Principal Mary Howicz. "School administrators became aware of allegations that a student brought a weapon to school and immediately contacted the Naperville police. No weapon was found."

But the Monday message also promised to communicate clearly about future cases involving student safety.

"If we ever had a situation that involved a weapon at school, we would communicate, when possible, that information with parents directly," the Monday emails said.

Friday's case gave officials a chance to do that. Dutdut's message said Hill Middle School and the district take the knife situation and other safety concerns "very seriously."

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