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Maine South, park district locked down in Park Ridge
Updated: February 18, 2013 3:45PM
PARK RIDGE — Maine South High School and two Park Ridge Park District facilities were on lockdown Feb. 14 after officials were advised of an armed robbery that occurred in nearby Des Plaines.
Described by Principal Shawn Messmer as a “soft lockdown,” all doors and windows at Maine South, 1111 S. Dee Rd., were locked and students were kept in their seventh-period classes between 1:15 and 1:30 p.m.
“The building was secure and at no time was anyone in serious danger,” Messner wrote in a message posted on the school’s website.
Park Ridge Police Deputy Chief Lou Jogmen said Des Plaines police were pursuing the suspect of a robbery in the area of Oakton Street and River Road, including the adjacent forest preserve between Des Plaines and Park Ridge.
Des Plaines Police could not be immediately reached for comment.
After being contacted by Park Ridge Police, the Park Ridge Recreation and Park District ordered the lockdown of Maine Leisure Center, 2701 W. Sibley Ave., where a preschool class was taking place, as well as the Oakton Sports Complex, 2800 W. Oakton St., said Gayle Mountcastle, executive director of the Park District. The lockdowns lasted about 40 minutes, she said.
Staff members at both facilities were provided with a description of the robbery suspect and all doorways to the buildings were locked and monitored, Mountcastle said. Parents coming to pick up their children were allowed to do so, she added.
