STERLING – Sterling High, Challand Middle and Jefferson Elementary schools were put on lockdown for a short time Wednesday afternoon after a “potentially dangerous” Dixon man was spotted in the area, Superintendent Tad Everett said after tonight’s school board meeting.
According to a release from Sterling police, sent around 6 p.m., a 78-year-old Dixon man was pulled over in the 400 block of Miller Road about 2:10 p.m. and taken to CGH Medical Center for a mental health evaluation. He was not charged.
Apparently, someone who knew the man called Dixon police to tell them he may have been suicidal, may have had a handgun, and was heading for CGH to see a relative, a Dixon police spokesman said.
Dixon police notified Sterling police.
According to Everett, SPD notified the district of the situation at 2:10 p.m., and the schools were put on yellow lockdown, which means no one was allowed in or out of any school, and students were kept in their classrooms.
The district was notified of the apprehension at 2:20, and came off lockdown at 2:25 p.m., he said.