The Evanston Police Department said the 900 block of Michigan Avenue is “secure,” following an incident in the vicinity involving an “emotionally disturbed individual” that prompted Evanston schools to go on “soft lockdown” Friday.

The individual has not yet been located, EPD Cmdr. Ryan Glew told The Daily. EPD is investigating and is focused on locating him, Glew said.

EPD responded to reports of a battery at a home on the 900 block of Michigan Avenue at about 11 a.m. Friday, according to an EPD news release. The release said EPD’s initial investigation showed the involved individual 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” prompted a soft lockdown of nearby Lincoln Elementary School, the release said. After EPD determined the individual may have gone downtown, the department expanded the soft lockdown to all Evanston daycares and K-12 schools. During a soft lockdown, teachers lock doors and continue teaching.

EPD called in neighboring police resources, including the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System, to help investigate. The police lifted the lockdown at all but four schools — Lincoln, Park School, Nichols Middle School and Chiaravalle Montessori — at about 2:15 p.m. and helped coordinate dismissal at the remaining four afterward.

The release said EPD does not believe there is a danger to the general public. No shelter-in-place order has been issued.

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

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