Elmhurst University Placed On Lockdown For Hours Because Of Report Of Person With Gun; No Suspect Located
ELMHURST, Ill. (CBS) -- Elmhurst University was placed on lockdown for hours late Wednesday because of a report of a person with a gun, but no suspect was ultimately located.
Elmhurst police said at 3:30 p.m., they responded to a single report of a man with a gun at the university, main street address 190 Prospect Ave. in the west suburb.
The university reported on its website that a person with a gun was found around 3:35 p.m. near the Dinkmeyer Hall dormitory. Half an hour later, the person was reported near Niebuhr Hall dormitory.
Those on campus were told to seek shelter in a locked room and remain in place until an all-clear was given. Around 6:05 p.m., the all-clear was issued and the university said normal campus activities could resume.
As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported, all the roads and entrances leading into the campus were blocked off by Elmhurst police cars with lights on while the lockdown was in place.
While the first reports about the person with the gun came in around 3:30 p.m., one student told Kozlov that he did not get official notice from the university until around 4:50 p.m., when he got an email from a teacher saying class was definitely canceled.
"So right now, I got an email for a teacher saying, 'Stay put,' till they get the all-clear," said student Tevin Franklin. "He doesn't know what's going on right now either. He just said he's going to lock down the classroom."
Before the all-clear, Kozlov reported she was seeing police officers walking through the buildings, presumably searching them.
Police said no suspect was located after the systematic search, and the lockdown ended.