EVANSTON, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Evanston Township High School was placed on lockdown Thursday morning and there was a heavy police presence at the school after two students were found with guns inside the school, officials said.
Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew said the incident started when a school resource officer (SRO) was alerted that someone may have been smoking marijuana in a bathroom.
"That Evanston police school resource officer responded with ETHS safety staff to that bathroom, where they detained two individuals for smoking cannabis," Glew said.
"Also in their initial investigation led to the recovery of two handguns. The investigation also showed that there was six other individuals, in addition to these two, that were in the bathroom at the time. Four of these individuals were detained relatively quickly. Two were not detained for sometime."
The school was placed on lockdown for hours.
"After the discovery of the handguns, the school went on lockdown for several hours. Right now the investigation indicates that all eight subjects are all juvenile ETHS students and all believe to be involved or in the bathroom at the time of the incident," Glew said.
The commander would not say whether there had been a shooting plot or whether police prevented a possible shooting. Evanston police previously reported that no shots were fired and no injuries have been reported.
Evanston Interim City Manager Kelley Gandurski said "today could have been tragic, but for the quick response and brave actions..."
Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew said the incident remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, Nene Shelton told the Sun-Times she got a text from her 14-year-old son, a freshman, saying “mom I’m scared. They have us barricaded.”
Shelton, a special needs teacher in Skokie, tried calling her son, but he wasn’t answering her many phone calls.
“I didn’t get an answer so I was very nervous,” she said.
She responded to the text, telling him to “stay safe, stay calm, don’t panic, because we don't need you to panic in a situation like this. When you panic you dont think clearly.”
She left work and rushed to the high school.
When she arrived, she said she was crying and embraced a friend who is also a parent. Their sons are friends and play football together.
Shelton, 33, was relieved when a short time later she got a phone call from her son, saying they were safe.
“Next week was supposed to be the last week, but I think today will be his last day until the new year,” she said as she waited for the lockdown to be lifted. “I have to make sure he’s okay mentally.”
Shelton said the year has been tough for kids in Evanston, with many peers being lost to gun violence.
“We don’t really deal with that up here, so this is really a strain on the commmunity.”
Lashandra Smith-Rayfield, a parent of twins who are juniors, a boy and a girl, said her children would not return to the high school Thursday.
“They’re fine. I’m not,” she said. “They say they’re safe, they’re with adults, but I’m taking them home immediately.”
This is a developing story.
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(WBBM Newsradio and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this copy.)