Updated at 4:30 p.m.
CHAMPAIGN – School officials have lifted a lockdown at Champaign Central High School, which was imposed Friday after several fights broke out.
Unit 4 spokesperson Stacey Moore says police were called after a large group of students rushed out of the school and one student claimed that a gun was involved in one of the altercations.
Freshman Jalay Jones saw the fight and the chaos afterward.
“These 2 guys, they ended up shouting ‘oh I have a gun, I have a gun’,” said Jones. “[It] scared everybody… people are getting hurt because they were trampled, tripping. People were pushing each other.”
After a detailed search by police, the district says there is no evidence that a weapon was involved or fired.
The school lockdown ended around 1:40 Friday afternoon.
Original post at 2:40 p.m.
CHAMPAIGN – Administrators at two central Illinois schools were forced to deal with threats on Friday.
In the Champaign Unit 4 School District, Central High School went under lockdown around 1:00 p.m. on Friday. An email to parents in the district stated there were several fights this morning.
Students were held in classes and offices as the district investigated. The lockdown ended around 2:00 p.m.
In another case, Mahomet police and the Champaign County sheriff’s department investigated a threat made against Mahomet Seymour High School.
A post from the school district on Facebook says a student made the threat on social media on Thursday night.
The district says all schools remained open today, and law enforcement addressed the threat with the student.
The threats come less than 48 hours after a 15-year-old in Oxford, Michigan shot and killed four students inside his school. He has been charged with murder and terrorism. His parents have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
