Replica Weapon Prompts Lockdown At Romeoville Schools

ROMEOVILLE, IL — The discovery of a replica weapon in a student's backpack Wednesday morning prompted a soft lockdown at the adjoining Lukancic Middle School and Skoff Elementary School on Normantown Road. Valley View Director of Community Relations Jim Blaney said Lukancic administrators were made aware of the replica weapon at around 10 a.m.

Blaney said Lukancic staff immediately notified Romeoville police and Skoff administrators about the incident. Both campuses briefly remained on a soft lockdown, meaning instruction continued but students remained in their classrooms, allowing Romeoville police to conduct a thorough search of the building.

The soft lockdown was lifted after Romeoville police gave the all-clear at around 11:40 a.m., Blaney said. He said he did not know how the replica weapon was discovered by Lukancic staff.

"At no time was there a concern for student and staff's safety," he said, noting Romeoville police did not find any cause for concern on the campus.

In a Facebook post, Valley View commended students and staff for following district procedure during the soft lockdown. The post added:

All of our Valley View Schools practice for situations such as these and it is obvious our students and staff have taken these training exercises seriously, which was clearly evident by their actions today. I would also like to remind parents to reinforce to their students that we all share a responsibility for a safe school environment. We all have the duty to say something if we see or hear something and students should always bring matters of concern to an adult.

Image via Romeoville Patch file