Accidental Active Shooter Alarm Prompts Emergency Response at Round Lake Elementary School

ROUND LAKE, Ill. — An active shooter alarm accidentally triggered during staff training at a Round Lake elementary school prompted a large emergency response Wednesday afternoon, but officials say there was no actual threat.

The Round Lake Police Department, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District and multiple other fire departments responded around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday to Park Campus, 400 West Townline Road in Round Lake, following a report of an active shooter.

Round Lake Police Chief David Prus said officers were notified by dispatch that the school’s Raptor alert system had activated an active shooter alarm.

Responding officers quickly determined the alarm was false and had been unintentionally triggered while school staff were practicing or testing internal emergency procedures.

Prus said the activation was accidental and there was no actual safety issue at the school. Police are working with school officials to help prevent a similar incident from happening again.

CCSD 46 Communications Coordinator Leslie Armstrong said Wednesday was a half-day release for Park Campus students. Students had already been dismissed earlier in the day when the incident occurred.

Teachers and staff remained at the school that afternoon for meetings, which included training involving the emergency response system. The false alarm was triggered during that training while only staff members were present.

Because students had already been dismissed, families were not notified about the false alarm.

The incident occurred shortly after a separate school safety scare at Buffalo Grove High School, where authorities responded around 11:45 a.m. following a report of an armed student.

Officers searched the Buffalo Grove school but found nothing unusual. Authorities believe that report, which caused the school to enter a “secure” mode, was a false report or “swatting” call.

Officials emphasized that the Round Lake incident was unrelated and resulted from an accidental alarm activation during staff training. No active shooter was present, and no students were at Park Campus when the emergency response was initiated.