Intruder Alarm Triggers Lockdown, Evacuation at Dallas City Elementary School

dallas cityA report of an intruder triggered a massive police response, full scale evacuation, lockdown at Dallas City Elementary School in Dallas City, Illinois this morning.

KBUR in Burlington, Iowa reports that students were evacuated from the school, and escorted in groups by policemen armed with assault rifles and bulletproof vests.

Students were loaded from the school onto buses, holding their hands in the air as they approached. According to scanner reports, one teacher apparently had brought her students to her house close to the school when the alarm was triggered.

Hancock County Sheriff Scott Bentzinger says armed police from at least five different agencies swept the building. It was determined that the building was clear and that there was no intruder inside.

Bentzinger told reporters, “There was an alarm activated from the school and law enforcement responded…law enforcement arrived, searched the building and found that everything was secure.”

It’s not clear who exactly signaled the intruder alarm, or if there was ever a threat in the first place.

There was a lot of initial confusion regarding the incident. School officials were reportedly planning an armed intruder drill later this month, and had sent home a memo with children informing their parents of that drill. Many parents believed that the incident was that drill, but Superintendent Ryan Olson says that it was just an unfortunate coincidence.

Classes resumed just before 12:30 pm. Illinois State Police, Sheriff’s deputies from Hancock and Henderson Counties, and police from as far away as Oquawka responded to the incident.

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