Pellet Guns Spur Lockdown at Palatine Schools

Three Palatine schools, Palatine High School and Virginia Lake and Jane Addams Elementary were in a “soft lockdown” for close to two hours after a nearby resident spotted a group of teens playing with what looked to be a handgun late Wednesday morning.

A resident of the 1500 block of Winslowe Drive reported five teenage boys were playing with what appeared to be a handgun around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday. According to police, the caller said she saw the teenagers pulling the trigger and she could hear a “clicking” sound.

Police later found out the "gun" was actually a pellet gun and not a firearm.

“We notified the school immediately,” said Palatine Police Cmdr. Mike Seebacher. “That apartment complex backs right up to the Palatine High School property.”

Palatine High School went into a “soft lockdown” at about 11:30 a.m. According to police, the two nearby District 15 elementary schools, Virginia Lake and Jane Addams, followed suit. All outside doors of the schools were locked, and no one was allowed to enter or exit the buildings. Classes continued as scheduled, police said. 

The lockdowns were lifted around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday after police located four of the five individuals and determined the initially reported handgun was a realistic looking pellet gun.

Read the rest of the story on Palatine Patch.