STERLING, Ill. — The Sterling Public School District (SPS) went into a district-wide lockdown Tuesday morning after a reported threat and the discovery of a man in possession of a loaded firearm near Sterling High School.
According to a Sterling Police Department news release, a concerned parent notified the SPS of a potential threat to the school, and the SPS subsequently notified the police. Police officers responded to the Sterling High School area shortly thereafter.
Some time later, police conducted a traffic stop in the school's vicinity, during which they found a passenger, 40-year-old Jesse L. Hall, of Sterling, in possession of a loaded handgun. This incident led police to recommend the school district go into lockdown. The district-wide lockdown was in effect until it was determined that the traffic stop was unrelated to the initial threat investigation.
Hall was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, unlawful use of weapons and possession of a firearm without requisite firearm owner's identification card.
A 15-year-old girl driving the vehicle was charged with no valid driver's license.
Police arrested a second 15-year-old girl for disorderly conduct in connection to the threat investigation.
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