Evanston School Locked Down Following Reported Off-Campus Assault

EVANSTON, IL — An Evanston middle school was temporarily placed on lockdown on Thursday after a student believed to be involved in an off-campus sexual assault became belligerent with school officials when they approached him.

In a memo sent to parents on Thursday, Nichols Middle School principal Marcus Wright said that the alleged assault did not happen during school hours but did involve other Nichols students. A video of the reported incident was circulating around school, he said in the memo.

Wright said that an investigation was launched immediately by school officials who then approached one of the students who was believed to be involved. When approached, the student became “verbally upset” and became physically aggressive to a staff member who was injured, Wright wrote.

Evanston Police had already been called and additional officers were called to help with the situation. The student was placed temporarily in handcuffs to prevent any further injury to school staff or police officers, Wright said in the memo.

The student was then taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment, the principal said. The school remained on soft lockdown for about 15 minutes before school operations went back to normal, Wright said.

“Please know that the alleged sexual assault is considered a police matter since it happened off school grounds and outside of school hours and is currently under investigation by the Evanston Police Department,” Wright wrote in the memo to parents. “Our school and district will fully cooperate and provide support to the police investigation to the greatest extent possible. To maintain the integrity of the investigation and protect the privacy of the students and families, there are no additional details that can be shared at this time.

“Our primary concern at this time is to support the students involved and their families after such a concerning incident. In addition, we know this news will impact our community and it’s important that we can help everyone in processing and addressing any concerns for safety.”

An Evanston police spokesman did not immediately return an email from Patch on Friday seeking comment.