St. Charles North evacuated following threat

Classes are scheduled to resume Friday at St. Charles North High School after students were evacuated Thursday when a staff member found a single, unspent bullet in a common area of the building.

Police said no students were in the vicinity of the bullet when it was found, and no known threats were made nor identified. Officials are not disclosing the caliber of the bullet.

Parents were notified about the incident around noon. Students were allowed to take personal items home, but were told to leave their backpacks.

Senior Sara Hausl said she was at lunch when police with dogs came in and started locking down the building.

“We had no idea what was going on,” Hausl said. “We thought maybe it was just another normal drug and weapon search. Then we all started getting text messages from our parents that we were being dismissed for the day. They seemed to know what was going on before we did. It was pretty scary.”

District officials said every backpack will be checked with a wand similar to what is used at airports. Any suspicious bags will be opened with a staff member and the student who owns the bag present during school Friday. Superintendent Don Schlomann said he decided to not do a personal search of each student and staff member before they left the building because it would have been too difficult and time consuming.

“I treated the situation as if I were a parent,” Schlomann said. “If I were a parent, I’d want my child to exit the building.”

No weapons were found during an initial search of the building. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officers were to use dogs to search the building overnight. The investigation about the bullet’s origin is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (630) 377-4435.

Parents can monitor the district’s website, d303.org, for any late changes to the schedule. Assuming no changes, students will report to their sixth-hour class to retrieve their belongings, then proceed to their regular first-hour class.