Threatening note puts NCHS on lockdown

Naperville Central High School was put on soft lockdown Friday afternoon after authorities found an anonymous threatening note with enough detail and specifics to warrant an "immediate response," including a patdown of every student leaving the building.

After a second sweep of the building using canine units from various agencies, Naperville police released the building about 6:30 p.m. Friday, declaring it secure.

The threat, written on an 8x10 inch piece of paper taped to a wall outside a classroom, was discovered by a staff member about 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Once the school was placed on soft lockdown, students were not allowed to leave their classrooms. Teachers and staff were updated on the situation via e-mail.

"I think this incident would remind any student that a serious threat is taken seriously," Principal Bill Wiesbrook said when asked if he believes the note was left as a prank. "If a student did this to be funny or to get attention, they would realize the school takes these kinds of threats seriously."

Students, who normally are not allowed use cell phones during the school day, were allowed to call and text their parents.

"At 2 o'clock today I made an announcement that students could use their cell phones and communicate with their parents and let them know they were safe," Wiesbrook said.

Police would not disclose the exact contents of the note, citing the ongoing investigation, but it described a threat with enough details and specifics they felt it warranted the lockdown.

"Because of the sensitivity of it and not to jeopardize the investigation itself, I don't want to disclose content," Naperville police Sgt. Gregg Bell said during a press conference late Friday afternoon. "It was of such detail we felt it would be in the best interests of the community to take action."

A team of police officers and one administrator went to every single classroom and each student before they were released, school officials said.

"They did a pat down of each and every student just to make sure no one was in possession of anything they should not have been," Bell said.

Melanie Raczkiewicz, District 203's associate superintendent for operations, said once the building was found to be clear of any danger, students were released in a staggered, controlled fashion. The school was evacuated piecemeal, one section at a time, to provide more safety for students, Bell said.

"If you release them in stages, then we could concentrate on that individual group," Bell said.

Students were not allowed to return to their lockers, Raczkiewicz said.

"Those who had car keys in their lockers were escorted individually by police officers so they could retrieve them," she said.

Wiesbrook said students responded to the situation calmly.

"There was no panic. No behavior that concerned me," Wiesbrook said. "I was proud of their behavior."

The cooperation level among the entire school community, he said, was great.

"Our students, our staff, our parents and the Naperville Police Department were tremendous," Wiesbrook said. "They handled the situation confidently and calmly."

Police worked quickly, he said, to search the building.

"When I first heard the building was going to be locked down and students were going to be searched, I was concerned with a school of 3,000, students would be (kept) in classrooms until 7:30 or 8 p.m.," Wiesbrook said.

Normally students are dismissed at 3:10 p.m. District 203's buses took some students home at 3:30 p.m., and then returned to the school for the remainder of the students, Wiesbrook said. The last students were released about 5 p.m.

The Naperville Central home playoff football game against Lockport was held Friday after the delayed dismissal. Prior to the game the entire stadium was swept, including trash bins, school officials said. The kick-off time was pushed back a half hour because so many students were dismissed late, including some members of the football team.

"I think the players, as well as the coaches, were thinking like 'again?' Kind of like homecoming (last week), we just wanted to stay away from everything that was disrupting us from keeping our head in the game," quarterback Nick Linne said. "Some kids were in (the school) up until the pregame meal, which is at 5 p.m. I luckily got out at 3:20, so I was one of the lucky kids."

Senior Linne said the doors were locked and the teachers continued to teach.

"We ended up being (locked up) for two hours, watching videos and YouTube clips and stuff. (We were) just having a good time. It really wasn't that bad. It could have been a distraction, but we didn't let it affect us, obviously," Linne said.

"I was taking a math quiz when (the lockdown) happened. That was pretty wild. I actually kind of liked it," senior tight end Cam Brate said. "I got to take a two-hour nap at school. But we were locked up until about 4:30. It was key for our seniors to step up, be leaders, and get everyone focused on the game."

Because students were not allowed to visit their lockers before leaving the school, Naperville Central's main entrance will be open from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday for students to retrieve items.

The police will continue to investigate this incident. Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to call the Naperville Police Crime Stoppers at 630-420-6006. All callers may remain anonymous.

"I have full confidence in our Naperville Central community. We have tremendous students," Wiesbrook said. "I think Monday will be another safe, orderly, great day of education at Naperville Central High School. Of course, we're concerned about what happened here today and we'll let the police do their investigation."

Freelance writer Blake Baumgartner contributed to this report.