'He absolutely did the right thing': Police commend man who reported possible gunman at Batavia High School

Police say a man who lives near Batavia High School was correct to report what he believed was a person entering the school with a rifle early Monday morning.

"He absolutely did the right thing by letting us know," Batavia Deputy Police Chief Shawn Mazza said. "We'd rather everyone err on the side of caution."

The report turned out to be unfounded, and police said the man probably mistook a student-athlete carrying a baseball bat or a large umbrella in a backpack for a gunman.

The unidentified man drove to the police department a mile and a half from the school and told an officer that he saw a male in dark clothes with a backpack and a rifle entering the school through the main entrance off Main Street just before 6 a.m.

Mazza said police officers entered the school within minutes and were backed up by a bevy of officers from neighboring municipal departments as well as the Kane County sheriff's office and Illinois State Police.

"Obviously we took what he said seriously. His statement was credible at the time," Mazza said. "I don't know exactly how he reported it, but even if he said he wasn't sure what he saw, we would have reacted the same way."

Officers immediately began scouring the interior of the high school and evacuating the few people who were already inside, Mazza said. Outside, the school was cordoned off and traffic was diverted. Police also began poring over video surveillance footage.

"School officials and command started looking not only at live footage but going back in time and taking a look at early video recordings from the day," Mazza said.

Access to the video feeds and recordings was done remotely from the parking lot of the school, he said.

"Eventually we did observe a kid who matched the description walk into the main doors with what looked like one of those backpacks that baseball players have that can carry a bat, too," Mazza said.

Batavia police posted on Facebook to stay away from the school early Monday, and Batavia District 101 officials also posted an alert warning employees and students about the potential danger.

Law enforcement officers continued their sweep of the school but discovered nothing. The lockdown was called off about 8:30 a.m.

Classes resumed at 10:30 a.m., school district officials said.

"We understand that this type of incident can be upsetting," said Batavia Unit District 101 Superintendent Lisa Hichens. "Additional supports are available for all staff and students in our counseling and advising departments districtwide today for anyone needing assistance."

Students' reactions to the event were mixed as they headed back into the school Monday morning. Some found the disruption to their routine annoying and confusing, while others were happy that all precautions were taken to ensure the safety of the school.

"At least it's safe than sorry," senior Anna Pritchett said.

Other students still had concerns about what had actually happened.

"It was really crazy to wake up and see that," said sophomore Alli Tenhaken. "It's kind of scary because we don't know for sure who the person with the bat was."

Her friend and fellow sophomore Emma Simpson said the experience was emotional.

"It's still scary because an hour ago they were like, 'Oh, there's actually a shooter,' but then now we're here. It's just kind of confusing," she said.

Mazza said extra officers were to be stationed at the school for the remainder of the day.

"There'll be additional patrol officers present just to make our students and staff feel safe," he said.

Mazza said he also expected the department will hold some type of meeting with officers and other departments involved in the response to determine how things went and discuss if any changes in practices need to be made.

Kane County Undersheriff Pat Gengler said there were minor issues with communications because each department uses different systems. It's a concern that arose in February when a gunman killed five co-workers and injured six Aurora police officers during a mass shooting at an Aurora warehouse where he worked. The gunman died in a shootout with police.

"One of the ways we overcome that is to marry those people from different departments together, to partner them inside so people on different radio frequencies can get all the information together," Gengler said.

• Daily Herald photographer Bev Horne contributed to this report.