Private School Employee Threatens Person With Gun In Evanston: Police

EVANSTON, IL — A private school was put into a "soft lockdown" Thursday morning after an employee who was fired a day earlier for brandishing a gun was reported to have returned to the area, police said.

Officers were dispatched to the 2500 block of Crawford Avenue around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday for a report of an aggravated assault, according to a statement from Evanston police.

They determined that an employee of the Barbereux School, a private school for students in preschool up to first grade at 3333 Culver St., got into an argument with a person clearing snow at a home nearby.

During the argument, the school employee pulled out a gun and pointed it at the other person, according to police.

There were no injuries, and the school employee, identified as 58-year-old Muncie, Indiana resident James Coffey, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault.

Because state police have issued a concealed carry license to the employee, the gun was considered to be legally possessed at the time of the assault.

Shortly before 8:45 a.m. Thursday, officers were called back to the Barbereux School, according to Evanston police.

"Despite being terminated from the school, the offending party had returned to the area of Barbereux School to confront the victim from the previous day’s aggravated assault," police said.

As a result, school officials imposed a "soft lockdown" to limit people coming and going from campus.

No one spotted any gun Thursday morning, and it later turned out that the report had been a false alarm, according to police. The former employee remained out on bail Thursday afternoon.

Barbereux School Director Cathy Kurtz told Patch that police stopped Coffey as he was arriving to work on Wednesday.

"He was subsequently arrested for an incident that occurred earlier in the day off site before arriving at work. No one at the school was aware of or observed the earlier event," Kurtz said in a statement.

"The person is no longer employed at the Barbereux School," she said. "On Thursday, January 26th a neighbor reported that the individual had returned to the area. Due to this report the school was put on a soft lockdown."

An Evanston police spokesperson announced that more patrols will be assigned to the area around the school "in an effort to elevate visibility and deter future incidents."

Related: Library Staffer Draws Gun During Beating By Homeless Man, Police Say