Search of St. Charles High School Finds No Weapon

are still investigating a threat on after a five-hour search of the school Tuesday found no weapons or bombs, Det. Sgt. Todd Wilson said.

On Wednesday, a letter that threatened several teachers and students was found and turned into school officials. Around 9:15 a.m., the school was put on lockdown as police responded. Students were searched and eventually evacuated to the football field before they were released around 2:30 p.m.

Wilson said some students were questioned briefly at the school before they were released as police tried to find the identity of the author of the letter. No one was in custody as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.

"We are going to still be investigating," he said. 

In addition to possible criminal charges, a student who makes a threat to could get a 10 day suspension and a referral to the superintendent for a much longer suspension under the district disciplinary code

Students were kept in their classrooms for several hours while police searched the school. Junior Ashley Bushdiecker said at 9:15 a.m. her teacher got an email about a possible threat.

She said students were able to call their parents and let them know what was going on. Many students got on Facebook where rumors about the situation were flying. Others in her class got on computers to look for more information, she said. 

"People started freaking out when they heard bomb threat," she said.

Lt. Mike Akers said the police department activated the Special Response Team. Snipers were stationed on the school's roof overlooking the stadium and at various points surrounding school.

Akers said while the police conducted a thorough search of the inside of the building, they also had to protect against possibility of an ambush attack once the students were evacuated.

Students were released classroom by classroom, searched and then directed to the football stadium around noon. The evacuation was completed by 2:15 p.m.

Meanwhile, parents waited on the sidewalk across from the school, seeking any information about how to get to their children.

Jason Lively left work to look for his daughter, a freshman, whom he hadn't yet heard from. He peered through a pair of binoculars watching for her to walk onto the field. He said he was glad the district was being cautious.

"It's likely just a hoax, but you never know," he said. "You can't mess around with this."

By 2:35 p.m., students streamed out of the football stadium out to their parents, buses or cars. A few students were allowed back in the school to get their backpacks or keys, but police wanted to limit access to the building.

The school district canceled all after-school activities scheduled for Wednesday evening including parent-teacher conferences at the school.

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Jeff Marion said the conferences would continue as scheduled on Thursday. Students across the district will not have class.

"We can regroup now," Marion said.

Marion said he was proud of how well the students handled the situation.

"For as long as they were cooped up in classrooms they did well," he said. "There was a lot of cooperation with authorities. Overall, we couldn't be more pleased with how everything went."