THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2007
Shooting Locks Down Schools
Two schools in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 were locked down for about two hours Wednesday afternoon after a shooting incident in Niles, about two blocks north of Emerson Middle School, authorities said.
According to published reports, one person was critically wounded about 2:30 p.m. in a shooting on a residential street off Cumberland Avenue in Niles, about two blocks north of Emerson and Jefferson Elementary School. The victim was transported in critical condition from the 8100 block of Susan Court to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. The shooting reportedly occurred in a home on Susan Court, officials said
A resident of the block reportedly said one official at the scene told him that someone who lives in a home on the street was shot, a report said.
Niles Police immediately called District 64 officials and advised them to lock down Emerson and Jefferson. Superintendent Sally Pryor said the call came at about 2:40 p.m., after most students had left Emerson for the day.
"The staff was here for training sessions, so they were locked in for a couple of hours," Pryor said. "There were some children at Jefferson, where we have special education and early childhood activities. They were locked into the building and their parents were called to come and pick them up."
The lock downs were achieved quietly and efficiently, she added.
By 5 p.m., she said, everyone had left the two schools safely.