Standoff With 'Emotionally Disturbed' Person Prompts School Lockdowns

EVANSTON, IL — Evanston schools were placed on a soft lockdown Friday afternoon on the advice of the Evanston Police Department after officers were called to the area of Michigan Avenue and Main Street, where police said an "emotionally disturbed person" had barricaded themselves in an apartment building.

There were no shots fired during the incident, but police said they found guns inside the disturbed man's home.

Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton announced the lockdown shortly after 12:30 p.m.

Two hours later, Horton said administrators had been cleared by police to lift the lockdown for all schools except Lincoln Elementary School, Nichols Middle School and Park School.

The location of the police standoff was about two blocks from Lincoln Elementary.

"All of our students and staff are safe and buildings remain secure," Horton said in a message to staff and families.

"This decision continues to be out of an abundance of caution," he said. "We will not dismiss students until we receive the all-clear from the police department. "

Police said there was no threat to any of the schools, and the advice to put schools and daycares on soft lockdown is a "precautionary measure."

Parents did not need to take any action, and there was no shelter-in-place order issued for the general public, according to police.

The incident began around 11 a.m. with reports of a potentially emotionally disturbed man involved in a battery in the 900 block of Michigan Avenue.

Initially, police believed the man may have fled the scene or may have returned to an apartment in the building.

The lockdown was expanded to include all schools and daycares after the investigation suggested the disturbed man may have gone to the downtown area.

During a soft lockdown, classrooms doors are locked and no one can come and go from campus, but classes otherwise continue as normal.

Officers from the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System, a suburban SWAT team, were called to the area to assist Evanston police. Officers in the area could be heard giving commands over a loudspeaker.

Police later determined the scene was secure after entering the person's house. The person they were looking for was no longer home.

"Over the course of this investigation, police believed the individual returned to the location of the initial incident, which was the focus of the police/NIPAS response," according to a statement from police.