On a cloudy October Saturday, the West Suburban Conference Silver cross country meet at South Campus was evacuated due to a reported suspicious person with a possible weapon. Ten days later, an unrelated report following two fights at South Campus resulted in 222 students missing school the next day over safety concerns. Both reports were resolved as unfounded, but the question from students and parents alike remains: how did these situations escalate, and could the administration have lessened it?

“When student and staff safety is our primary goal, we are going to take the approach of making certain we take any threat like this seriously,” District 204 Superintendent Dr. Timothy Kilrea said.

On Oct. 15, a report was made to an LT security staff member, who contacted the police. On Oct. 25, the police were contacted first and immediately reached out to the LT administration. Both reports were based in speculation, Kilrea said.

“Unfortunately, I can’t see that there’s any way to stop that, except for to have individuals assist us if they know something is credible,” Kilrea said. “Or, if they don’t know if something is credible or if they haven’t seen something, don’t pass it on as fact.”

Weapon threats are rare at LT, but national statistics point to the administration’s rapid and serious reaction. In a 2015 Center for Disease Control survey, 4.1-percent of students reported carrying a weapon on school property in the past 30 days. While a frightening number, it is decreasing rapidly—down from 5.2-percent in 2013, and from 11.8-percent in 1993.

Brian Budds, the Public Information Officer for the Western Springs Police Department, said that the police attempt to collect personal information during reports to help assure credibility while maintaining close communication with the LT administration. Other methods include conducting interviews, reviewing camera footage and monitoring public social media. During the Oct. 15 investigation, Budds estimated approximately 20 regional police departments were involved.

“We value and greatly appreciate all the support and sharing of information the students provide,” Budds said. “The department encourages all students and staff to ‘speak up’ whenever they see or are aware of something suspicious.”

An important change to be made after the events involved the school’s automated phone system.

“We learned about our software program we thought would be able to get the calls out immediately, and some calls were delayed up to an hour,” Kilrea said. “That’s not real timely.”

The technical issue has since been resolved. The police department’s response has not changed, Budds said.

Another significant takeaway was the impact of social media during incidents with unconfirmed details. English teacher Patrick O’Neil, a witness to the events on Oct. 25, spoke about social media amplifying rumors in an October interview with LION Online.

“I hope that kids stay off their phones,” O’Neil said. “I think that a lot of times, the social media aspect ends up making things worse.”

Kilrea said that going forward, these incidents would be an example to remind students about the responsible use and immediacy of social media.

“We always knew that social media played a part here,” Kilrea said. “I can’t stress enough that social media can be a fantastic communication tool, but can also heighten anxiety levels without any concrete or verifiable reason.”