While some issues continue to persist within school districts across the United States, not every fight or melee can be prevented. When a safety concern is raised, communities want to see action done by their police department to minimize further issues.
Mundelein had it's hands full and swiftly responded to disruptions of education and implemented an action plan in event of a mass shooting.
I was witness to a tactical training situation conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies at Mechanics Grove Elementary School in Mundelein which included the sounding of alarms and community members acting as victims to prepare and improve plans for the future.
Police have plan if schools come under
seige
October 21, 2006
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
MUNDELEIN - Mechanics Grove Elementary
School went under siege with three masked gunmen as part of a
training exercise conducted by the Mundelein Police Department on
Friday. At 9 a.m. three armed gunmen started firing blank shells
inside the school.
Subsequently, the fire alarm started blaring
throughout the school and the classrooms were locked down. The three
fake gunmen were apprehended at 11:30 a.m. A total of six police
agencies worked together with school officials to better communicate
school crisis situations.
Mundelein Police Chief Raymond Rose
invited law enforcement officials from Libertyville, Vernon Hills,
Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire and the Lake County Sheriff's Office to
participate in the school crisis training session.
Within minutes, the six agencies
responded in teams to search the building for gunmen who were
undercover police officers from various agencies acting as the
perpetrators.
According to Mundelein Deputy Chief of
Support Services Michael O'Brien, up to 60 law enforcement officials
teamed up to practice at the elementary school.
"This is our fourth drill we have
had, but we have gone to other towns and assisted with their drill,"
O'Brien said. "Everybody likes to have their own drill. We work
so closely with our surrounding departments, we will send off some of
our (personnel) to their drills and they will send off some of their
(personnel) to our drills."
The exercise has been conducted at
other Mundelein schools to familiarize officers with the layout of
the school.
Rose said the outside law enforcement
agencies are essential because they could be first responders in the
time of a catastrophe at any Lake County school.
According to a report by the Christian
Science Monitor, shootings are becoming more diverse. What started as
an urban problem has spread to rural areas, including a plot at a
high school in Green Bay, Wis., involving three teenagers.
"We never thought it would happen
here," said Rose, echoing what Green Bay citizens said in the
aftermath of the foiled plot.
O'Brien agrees with Rose on the
importance of a plan.
"Everyone always says its not
going to happen here, well that is reason we employ these tactics.
These tactics and approaches can be used in any building and not just
in schools," O'Brien said.
Due to school not in session Friday,
several teachers volunteered to assist in the exercise.
Mechanics Grove second-grade teacher
Kelly Dolan learned more about preventive measures.
"We do have lockdown procedures in
our (classrooms), and it also lets us know of standard operating
procedures," Dolan said. "Today, some of them were used and
some of them we knew we had to change based on the scenario but it
was at least a starting point about what we needed to do."
About 40 people from the community also
volunteered in addition to school administrators and faculty.
"I was very excited to see the
support we had from (Chief Rose) six months ago, helping us to
understand why it is important for us to drill," District 75
Superintendent Cynthia Heidorn said.
"From our teachers to volunteer to
be a part of this because they want to know how to keep their
students safe and what to do in these situations."
In addition, Heidorn said she would
always have full support of Mundelein officials due to its strong
relationship with the area school districts.
19 Mundelein High students arrested for
fighting
December 7, 2006
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
MUNDELEIN - Fights outside Mundelein
High School over two days have resulted in the arrests of 19
students. On Monday, a fight occurred shortly after school when
students congregated at the bus stop and a rival gang member
allegedly said something which offended another student.
"These
are just rival groups of kids that don't like each other," said
Mundelein Police Deputy Chief Michael O'Brien. "They call
themselves gang members." The first incident resulted in three
arrests.
Justino Bailon, 19, of Palatine will be
tried as an adult with a misdemeanor. The other two were identified
as 15- and 16-year old boys.
"(Bailon) lives in Palatine, but
(Mundelein) allowed him to finish the school year because his family
just moved to Palatine midway through the year," O'Brien said.
O'Brien added when school officials
broke up the Monday fight, the remaining participants fled the scene.
"We have one full-time officer
that is their school resource manager," O'Brien said. The
officer, along with school personnel, reviewed surveillance tapes and
were able to identify the students who fled the scene Monday.
Tensions ran high early Tuesday morning
when eight students surrounded a smaller group of one or two.
Two of the eight students involved were
charged Tuesday with the mob action. They were identified as Eduardo
Castro, 18, and 17-year-old Angela Rivera.
Mundelein Police have had a history
with the individuals involved in the incident.
"Everybody that was arrested as
adults and juveniles were known to our police department because of
their prior records," O'Brien said.
There were no injuries stemming from
the two fights and police confirmed none of the students had any
weapons in their possession at the time of the arrests.
School officials are still reviewing
the incident, but all students involved were suspended immediately.
"Anybody that is caught fighting
faces an automatic suspension," O'Brien said. "We work
closely with Mundelein High School. We have a zero-tolerance policy
no matter if they are part of a gang or not."
O'Brien said police are still
investigating the incident, but asserted the fight was not planned.
The juveniles charged were transported
to Depke Juvenile Detention Center in Vernon Hills.
Eight students involved in melees booted
December 14, 2006
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
MUNDELEIN - Mundelein High School
officials expelled eight of the 19 students involved in gang violence
at the school last week after a closed School Board session Tuesday
night.
"No one likes to expel people from school, but there
comes a time when it needs to be done," said Interim
Superintendent John Barbini. School officials held hearings with the
involved students and their parents Friday night to discuss the Nov.
4 and 5 incidents.
Following the Nov. 4 incident, which
occurred after school near a bus stop, the school's police liaison
officer reviewed surveillance tapes with school officials to identify
students who fled the scene.
Three students were apprehended during
the initial incident.
"The services of Mundelein police
have been outstanding, and they have been very cooperative in this
situation," Barbini said.
The expelled students also have been
involved in gang incidents in the school, Barbini said.
The eight students had to sign gang
contracts with the school and had to agree to be watched more closely
by administrative staff.
The district has offered the expelled
students educational alternatives. They will be transferred to the
Lake County Regional Office of Education Alternative School in Zion.
Three of the 19 students involved were
charged as adults, but Barbini would not indicate if Justin Bailon,
Eduardo Castro or Angela Rivera were among the expelled students.
The remaining 11 students will be
allowed to continue their education at Mundelein High, but will be
subjected to a series of disciplinary actions by administration.
In addition to the eight involved in
the gang confrontation, the district also expelled a student involved
in an unrelated incident.
According to Barbini, the ninth student
was involved in a physical altercation with a school administrator.
"We want to send the message that
Mundelein High School is a safe place to learn and work,"
Barbini said.
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