Markham Teacher Arrested For Bringing Weapons To Dist. 144 School

MARKHAM, IL — A first-year teacher at Prairie-Hills Jr. High whose contract was not renewed was arrested Tuesday after bringing a loaded handgun and a knife to school in a duffel bag, school officials said. No one was injured.

The teacher, who has not been named, has been charged with a Class B misdemeanor for violating Illinois concealed carry laws and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, Superintendent Kimako Patterson said. The teacher has been barred from returning to campus.

"I need everybody to be safe, I need every teacher and every child to feel safe and I need parents feel safe," Patterson said.

The man did not brandish the gun and made no threat to the staff, students or teachers, Patterson said. However, she added, the district is hiring a private security firm to guard each of its seven schools for the remainder of the school year.

"I am upset with the way this was handled [by authorities] and the fact it is only a Class B misdemeanor," Patterson said. "I am a mother of three and a superintendent of 3,000, and I will say to you I don’t care if he didn't brandish a weapon or did not make a threat. You should not have been in a school building with knife and with a loaded gun."

The school board held an emergency meeting Tuesday night to decide the district's next steps. All junior high parents were notified by phone and email Tuesday, and parents across the district will be notified with full details today, she said. The board also authorized the temporary hire of security guards, which Patterson said likely will not be needed during the next school year.

Patterson said the situation unfolded after a staff member saw that the teacher carried the weapons among other personal items in his bag, and immediately alerted the principal, Kenndell Smith, who evacuated the vicinity Tuesday. The teacher was arrested by Markham police without incident. The teacher had been notified his contract would not be renewed in March, but Patterson said it not known if bringing the weapons on campus were related to his termination.

Markham police would not confirm the arrest and referred all questions to district officials.

"The situation is fluid,"said deputy police chief Jack Genius.

The board will take additional action at the May 6 meeting, pending results of the investigation.