STC North Students Back in Class Friday After Ammo Scare

Students at St. Charles North High School went home early Thursday after a staff member discovered a live round of ammunition in a common area in the school while classes were in session. 

Superintendent Don Schlomann made the decision to evacuate the school at about noon, a few hours after first learning of the discovery and after consulting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and St. Charles police.  

"Obviously, we take these things very seriously," Schlomann said. "After processing through issues and logistics, at noon students were placed on lockdown and at 12:15 we asked all students to exit the building."

All students are expected to return to school Friday morning and report to their sixth-hour class, from which they were dismissed, to gather their backpacks and then report to their first class of the day.

Schlomann said there was no indication that there was a gun or any other type of weapon.

"The only thing we have is a live round, and there were no threats, nothing written on a bathroom wall, nothing like that," he said.

Students were told to leave their backpacks in the classrooms, but were allowed to take other personal items such as cell phones, keys and wallets. Schlomann said there were logistics involved with buses before students could be released. 

Schlomann said the backpacks are being processed using x-ray wands, similar to those used at airports. He said if there is any indication that would cause concern, the backpacks in question would be marked for further inspection by an administrator at a time when the backpack's owner was present.

Schlomann said ATF will assist by using dogs to help check for live ammunition or weapons if there are any. In addition, every locker in the school is being searched by staff. Schlomann added that the school has the authority to inspect lockers. With a student population of about 2,000, the process will last through the night.  

Schlomann said the decision to send students home was made with parents in mind. 

"I thought about it as a parent," he said. "If I was a parent, I'd want my child to exit the building. That made the most sense to us." 

With the unexpected events, there is another matter at hand: homework.

He said teachers realize that students weren't able to have their books home with them, so teachers will have to modify lesson plans. That means a reprieve for tests that might have been on the syllabus as well. 

Parents are asked to check the school's website at north.d303.org for any further updates.

Principal's Thursday Night Message

The following message was posted on north.d303.org at 7:38 p.m. Thursday night:

Good evening, this is Kim Zupec, principal at St. Charles North High School. As you are aware, we dismissed school early today. We found a live round of ammunition in a common area this morning. In response, we moved into lockdown status in the school. Shortly after that, we dismissed students a few classrooms at a time. We did not and do not believe that there was an imminent threat at any time, but strongly feel that the lockdown and dismissal was the most prudent action to ensure student safety.

We have completed our search of the building, including lockers and classrooms, and are thankful to report that we did not find anything out of the ordinary. As part of the search, two canine teams from the ATF swept the building. To accommodate this canine search, bags likely were moved from their original spots. No bags were moved out of any room.

School is in session tomorrow. To facilitate the retrieval of your students’ belongings, we will begin at 7:20 in period 6A. Students will only be allowed to retrieve their own belongings; no student will be permitted to retrieve the belongings of another student. The revised schedule for the day is posted on north.d303.org. Students who have unscheduled first period are expected to arrive at 7:20 and report to period 6A. 

Any morning practices, events, or study sessions that were scheduled for tomorrow morning are canceled. After school events will be held as scheduled.

Should your student have any information regarding this incident, please encourage him or her to contact a Dean of Students.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Schedule for Friday:

6^th extra 7:20 - 7:38

1^st     7:44 - 8:28

2^nd    8:34 - 9:18

3^rd    9:24 - 10:08

4^th     10:14 - 10:58

5^th     11:04 - 11:48

6^th     11:54 - 12:38

7^th     12:44 - 1:28

8^th     1:34 - 2:21   

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