Security heightened at Jacobs High School after rumored threat

A social media video of a student holding a handgun escalated Wednesday into rumors of a threatened act of violence at Jacobs High School in Algonquin, school district officials said in an email to parents.

Community Unit District 300 Superintendent Fred Heid said no threat was made, but heightened security measures were enacted at the school for precautionary reasons.

"As the morning progressed, so too did the rumors on social media," Heid wrote in the email. "As such, I wanted to ensure parents, students and staff that the rumors were unfounded and to outline the additional steps we were implementing at the school to help ensure that everyone felt safe."

Tuesday evening, district officials were made aware of an Instagram video of a Jacobs High School student holding a handgun, though it did not contain a threat or any connection to Jacobs other than the student's title page, Heid said. Algonquin police met with the student and his or her parents and were able to secure the gun, which "satisfied the concern regarding the student's safety," he said.

About 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, Heid said, a former Jacobs student emailed him regarding a social media post that alleged there would be a shooting at the school. As rumors continued circling on social media, a shelter-in-place protocol was enacted, preventing outside access to the high school while still allowing students to move freely between classes.

The protocol was put in place as an additional precaution to allow the district time to work with law enforcement to address concerns, Heid said. It was lifted at the end of first period.

Algonquin police also increased their presence at the school. They were informed of the rumors at 3:54 a.m., but did not received firsthand reports of direct threats against the school, police said in a news release.

"While there was no threat made, we will always take a proactive approach when there is an allegation," Heid wrote. "Unfortunately, social media works much faster than we can at times and our ability to get out in front of these issues becomes difficult."

After-school activities were canceled Wednesday due to the large number of students reported absent.

"In fairness, I do not want today's events to create further issues for our students, staff or families," Heid said.