Police manhunt leads to school lockdown in Leland

LELAND – A school was put on lockdown Thursday morning as Sheriff's deputies from Dekalb and LaSalle counties sought a man who they suspected was armed and in the area.
 
The lockdown at Leland School, which serves 263 students in kindergarten through high school, was later lifted after police found the man hiding under a vehicle behind Casey's General Store at 180 N Main St., and arrested him.

Leland School District 1 Superintendent Jodi Moore said it was the first time that the school went into a lockdown, where no one was allowed to leave classrooms. The lockdown lasted about a half hour before it was lifted shortly after noon.

She said police did a good job notifying officials about what they needed to do to keep students safe.

"The police were very proactive," Moore said.
 
Police had been pursuing the man for several hours, LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said. DeKalb County Sheriff's officers arrested him without incident and were taking him to Sycamore, Templeton said. He was unarmed at the time he was caught, Templeton said.

The man’s identity and any charges against him were not immediately available.