Students and staff at Normal Community High School have all returned home after a broad threat prompted an emergency response evacuating the school.
In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Normal Police Department spokesperson Brad Park said the school received a concerning call around 8 a.m., triggering the response.
Park said the threat was broad and wide-ranging.
Police assisted with the investigation and evacuation, while securing the school property.
Some students had already arrived for activities before the official school day began. Most were on route to school by bus or car when officials activated evacuation plans.
About 2,000 students plus staff were directed to go to Eastview Church next door to the high school, where several parents tried to pick up their students before they'd been instructed to do so.
"We were hopeful that we would be able to have still somewhat of a regular school day," Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle said.
Shortly after, they opted to cancel the school day. By 10:30 a.m., officials began to release students who'd driven themselves to Eastview or could be reunified with parents.
"Buses were at Eastview at approximately 12:30 p.m. to take students home who had not yet been picked up by a parent or guardian," she said. “As of probably 12 p.m. we maybe had a couple of hundred students left but the reunification process was working."
By 1:30 p.m., the church was empty. Students and staff were later allowed to return to campus to retrieve cars and belongings. After school activities resumed as scheduled, with a normal school day expected on Wednesday.
Bomb squad called in
Normal Police worked with local, state and federal partners — including the Illinois Secretary of State Bomb Squad — to investigate the source and nature of the threat.
“We're not putting out all the information regarding what type of threat was made but a bomb was one of the threats that was made,” Park said. “That's why the... bomb squad was called.”
Authorities searched the school building and grounds and determined the threat was not credible.
Weikle said emergency plans are frequently tested and revised. Tuesday's events, she said are an example of an emergency plan that worked.
Volunteers from Eastview assisted teachers and police with staging students at the church and providing escorts to the parking lot. Weikle said it is one of several reunification sites the district relies on.
“Eastview really is a great partner,” Weikle said. “They train their volunteers as to what their role is and how they can best support the school district in a situation like this.”
Normal Community was evacuated in 2012 after a shooting at the school under a different superintendent.
“There are lessons we can learn from every experience, and we're always working to learn and improve," Weikle said.
If there's one thing that could have gone differently, rumors swirled on social media Tuesday morning. Some said the evacuation was due to a bomb threat, others suggested a gun had been brought to school.
Park encouraged parents and community members to avoid the comments section.
"It stokes more fear and more animosity and anxiety for the students," he said. "Our goal is to make sure the information we have can be corroborated and verified before we push it out. Sometimes people don't like that it can take an extra 20 minutes or half an hour to get the information pushed out, but it's definitely needed."
