EPD says 900 block of Michigan Avenue ‘safe’ after Friday closings

The Evanston Police Department has said the 900 block of Michigan Avenue is ‘safe’, following an incident in the area involving an ’emotionally disturbed individual’ that prompted Evanston Schools to stand in “soft lockdown” Friday.

The individual has not yet been located, EPD Cmdr. Ryan Glew told The Daily. EPD is investigating and focusing on his whereabouts, Glew said.

EPD responded to reports of a battery at a home in the 900 block of Michigan Avenue around 11 a.m. Friday, according to an EPD news release. The statement said EPD’s initial investigation showed that the person involved may have fled the scene or returned to a unit inside the building.

No shots were fired, but firearms in the home and “the assessed emotional state of the individual” caused a soft lockdown at nearby Lincoln Elementary School, the statement said. After the EPD determined the individual may have been downtown, the department expanded the soft lockdown to all Evanston daycares and K-12 schools. During soft lockdown, teachers lock doors and continue to teach.

EPD called nearby police resources, including the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System, to help investigate. Police lifted the lockdown at all but four schools – Lincoln, Park School, Nichols Middle School and Chiaravalle Montessori – around 2.15pm and helped coordinate the dismissal of the other four afterwards.

The statement said the EPD does not believe there is a danger to the general public. No shelter-in-place orders have been issued.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Twitter: @avivabechky

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