North Students Expected Back in School Friday After Ammo Scare

Students at went home early Thursday after a staff member discovered a live round of ammunition in a common area in the school while classes were in session. 

Superintendent Don Schlomann made the decision to evacuate the school at about noon, a few hours after first learning of the discovery and after consulting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and .  

"Obviously, we take these things very seriously," Schlomann said. "After processing through issues and logistics, at noon students were placed on lock-down and at 12:15 we asked all students to exit the building."

Follow St. Charles Patch on Facebook!

All students are expected to return to school Friday morning and report to their sixth-hour class, from which they were dismissed, to gather their backpacks and then report to their first class of the day.

Schlomann said there was no indication there was a gun or any other type of weapon on campus.

"The only thing we have is a live round, and there were no threats, nothing written on a bathroom wall, nothing like that," he said.

Students were told to leave their backpacks in the classrooms, but were allowed to take other personal items such as cell phones, keys and wallets. Schlomann said logistics were involved in coordinating buses before students could be released. 

Schlomann said the backpacks are being processed using X-ray wands, similar to those used at airports. He said if there is any indication that would cause concern, the backpacks in question would be marked for further inspection by an administrator at a time when the backpack's owner was present.

Schlomann said ATF will assist by using dogs to help check for live ammunition or weapons if there are any. In addition, every locker in the school is being searched by staff. Schlomann added that the school has the authority to inspect lockers. With a student population of about 2,000, the process will last through the night.  

Schlomann said the decision to send students home was made with parents in mind. 

"I thought about it as a parent," he said. "If I was a parent, I'd want my child to exit the building. That made the most sense to us." 

With the unexpected events, there is another matter at hand: homework.

He said teachers realize that students weren't able to have their books home with them, so teachers will have to modify lesson plans. That means a reprieve for tests that might have been planned as well. 

Parents are asked to check the school's website at north.d303.org for further updates.

Download the movie