Two 16-year-old students face criminal charges after northwest suburban Elgin High School was put into a "hold-in-place" emergency status for about 15 minutes because a student had been seen with a gun Monday morning. The gun turned out to be a pellet gun.
Elgin police said that at about 9:30 a.m. Monday, the school staff notified the police department’s school resource officer at Elgin High that a student might have a gun.
After investigating, police learned that two students had each separately possessed and displayed a pellet gun to other students earlier in the day.
The pair were each charged with disorderly conduct for alarming and disturbing behavior, as well as possession of an air rifle, a city ordinance violation.
Both were released to their parents.
Principal Jerry Cook said the incident prompted school staff to keep students in classrooms until the school could be swept.
He said staff members found the reputed gun in a student’s backpack and determined that it was a BB gun. As soon as the gun was secured and its owner was identified, the school returned to normal operating status.
The principal said no threats or injuries occurred, and the incident was reported to the school resource officer assigned to EHS by the Elgin Police Department.
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"Weapons of any kind, even toy weapons, can never come to school," Cook reminded parents and students.
"It’s evident from student interviews that there are a number of students throughout the City of Elgin who are participating in ‘BB gun/paintball battles,'" he added. "I urge you to have conversations with your children about the dangers of carrying look-alike guns in public. These guns look very real and can have very dangerous consequences."
