5 arrested after report of student with a gun at Highland Park High School
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- Five students were arrested on Tuesday after a report of a student in possible possession of a gun at Highland Park High School.
Still, no shots were fired, nor was anyone hurt. CBS 2's Andrew Ramos went to the scene.
The superintendent of schools confirmed the student "alleged to have a gun" was identified and security footage showed he had left the building with another student. It was around 10:30 a.m. when the school district received a tip that a student at the school had a gun.
After another student came forward and said they had actually seen the weapon on school grounds, the high school went into lockdown.
"My stomach sank, I mean you see all the SWAT teams running in there," said parent David Fettner. "I went on the side of the door to see what was going on and they were just running in there and the intensity on their faces, it was just crazy. It was like a flashback to July."
The incident comes exactly nine months after the mass shooting at the July 4 parade in Highland Park.
Video obtained by CBS 2 shows police placing two students in custody outside of the school. Officials later confirmed a total of five students were arrested.
Students were dismissed from the school early.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in a post on her Twitter account that voting for Tuesday's municipal election was interrupted due to related lockdowns at other schools and the Highland Park Public Library. She said the Lake County Clerk's Office has petitioned a court to extend the voting for the same length of time as the lockdown.
The clerk's office said voting at three sites, Braeside Elementary, Red Oak Elementary and the public library, which were on lockdown for a little over an hour and a half, would have their voting times extended to 8:35 p.m.
Rotering lauded local first responders and school leaders for their response to the incident on Tuesday. She also tied the incident back to the issue of gun violence, which she has spoken out about since the July 4 massacre.
"While we were so relieved that the event ended without incident, once again, our community was terrorized by the threat of gun violence," she wrote. "I urge all affected residents to reach out for trauma support by calling 211."
On behalf of the Highland Park community, we share our deepest appreciation for today’s excellent work by the Highland Park Police Department and our neighboring law enforcement agencies, who immediately provided mutual aid.
— Nancy Rotering (@NancyRotering) April 4, 2023
Earlier on Tuesday, students had organized a walkout calling for a nationwide assault weapons ban in response to last week's mass shooting at a Nashville private school.
"It used to be, you think it could never happen here," Fettner said. "But then it did happen here so now, when you pull up, it's like, well, this can't just be another false alarm."
The incident remains under investigation by Highland Park police. The identities of the students who were arrested have not been released.