MT. PLEASANT, Wis. — Three people are in custody after Case High School in Racine County went into lockdown Monday morning after a student's comments sparked a large police response.
According to Mt. Pleasant police, the ages of the 4 students arrested were 14, 15, 17, and 17. Officers say they found a weapon outside of the school. "Since this case is pending prosecution and involves minors, additional details about this investigation cannot be provided at this time," according to a statement issued to TMJ4 News on Oct. 6.
Officials say students later returned to class and that the student who allegedly started the incident is in police custody.
Around 8:45 a.m., the Mount Pleasant Police Department School Resource Officer, along with security personnel, responded to an "altercation" on the second floor of the school, police said.
One of the students involved left the building and the area. That student returned and was immediately apprehended by police outside of the school.
Police say information led officers to believe the student had obtained a weapon after leaving the school.
In a statement, police said: "It’s important to note that the weapon was never inside of the School. The statements made to officers, however, at that time, resulted in the High School being placed in a necessary lock-down for investigative purposes."
It was later determined the statements were unfounded and the lockdown was lifted. As a result of the altercation, three people were taken into custody. Police said no further information will be released due to the age of the students.
Police said no one was injured.
According to a statement from the Racine Unified School District:
This morning, a student was apprehended outside of Case High School. Statements made by that student caused law enforcement to put the school into lockdown and investigate. The statements were found not to be true and nothing was found in the building. While we recognize that these precautionary measures were scary, we appreciate how seriously everyone took the situation to ensure our students and staff were safe.
It was a disturbing scene outside of the school as Racine County Sheriff's deputies were seen outside armed with long guns, and the main road shut down to traffic.
Kristina Rigor showed up at the school after hearing from other students that there was a lockdown and the rumors surrounding it. Rigor's daughter is a student.
"She didn’t really know what was going on at first. She thought it was just a drill but then all the police and everything figured out it wasn’t so she is scared," Rigor said.
Although classes resumed after the lockdown was lifted, multiple students left for the day.
"I’m just kind of glad to get out of there beside everybody is just going to be on edge the rest of the day so it’s nice to just be out of that environment," student Haley Vance said.
Watch:
Some parents told TMJ4 they thought the notification system took too long or they didn't get a message.
"I think it should be more of an immediate reaction to call the parents and not wait until it's all calmed down. Just kind of let the parents know ahead of time here this is what's going on," parent Alyssa Jensen said.
The incident remains under investigation by the Mount Pleasant Police Department. Several agencies responded to the incident, including the Racine County Sheriff's Office, Caledonia Police Department, Sturtevant Police Department, Racine Police Department, and the Wisconsin State Patrol.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
