Glencoe’s Central School was placed on a brief lockdown Friday afternoon as five juveniles were arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, authorities said.
The incident began shortly before 1 p.m., when an unoccupied 2022 Kia Sportage was located just outside Central School on the 600 block of Greenwood Avenue, according to the village’s public safety department.
Via a license plate check, the vehicle was determined to have been stolen earlier in the week from Waukegan, Deputy Public Safety Chief Andrew Perley said.
The five male juveniles were then observed walking back to the car when they were taken into custody by Glencoe officers. Perley said all five were arrested for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
One officer brandished a gun to make the arrest, Perley noted.
“The only firearms that were involved were our police officers,” Perley said in an interview. “One officer was making the arrest and he had five individuals he was trying to take into custody.”
District 35 Superintendent Catherine Wang wrote in an email to Pioneer Press that students were both inside and outside at the time of the incident.
Both Public Safety and District 35 officials said Central entered established lockdown procedures that lasted just a few minutes.
“We’ve been meeting with the school administration and focusing on school safety, building security and student safety and our open communication played out in this circumstance,” Perley said.
Later that afternoon District 35 Superintendent Catherine Wang sent a letter to families there was not a threat to the schools or the surrounding area. Central School Principal Ryan Mollet wrote to families that he held an all-school assembly Friday afternoon to discuss the situation.
Wang added the district’s social workers were available Monday for students and did not rule out any changes to existing security procedures.
“We will reflect and review all stages of our response to ensure we learn from the events to inform any necessary updates to our safety protocols,” she wrote.
Perley said an investigation continues into the incident but he does not anticipate arrests of any additional suspects.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
