PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Both Norwood Elementary and Norwood Primary Schools were put on a hard lockdown Friday afternoon after a school shooting threat was received, the Peoria County Sheriff said.
However, no threat was found after deputies searched the schools, said Sheriff Chris Watkins in an email. He said it was too early to determine if this was a “swatting” incident but he did note there have been threats throughout the state and nationally on Friday.
The hard lockdown has since been lifted, Watkins said. Parents, he added, were able to come and get their children if they wanted.
Norwood School District 63 has two schools: Norwood Primary which serves children pre-kindergarten through fourth grade and Norwood Elementary which handles grades 5 to 8.
Parents, he said, were kept informed.
“The schools put immediate communication out to parents when it was safe and there is a large police presence at both schools until all students are released for the day. Peoria County detectives are investigating the incident and are in communication with the FBI,” he said in the email.
The threat was received at about noon through the emergency dispatch center on a 911 call. There was only one phone call, Watkins said, and it indicated there was a possible threat at the elementary school.
