When asked what information Kane County residents needed to know a day after yet another school shooting left 17 dead at a South Florida high school, the response from Kane County law enforcers was unanimous: report suspicious activity.

Dan Ferrelli, media relations manager of the Aurora Police Department, said he couldn’t stress that point strongly enough.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

“It should be underscored that the public plays a vital role in school safety in that if something suspicious comes to their attention, they should immediately alert us,” he said.

Kane County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Director Pat Gengler said Kane County school districts regularly conduct active-shooter drills, and Kane County law enforcers work closely with schools to plan and prepare for those situations. But he also underlined that there’s no better deterrent than for students, parents, school officials and community members in general to share information about possible threats, signals of violence or mental illness.

“I agree with Dan: The single most important thing that can help is to report suspicious activity,” he said.

Elburn Police Chief Nick Sikora said police will look into and follow up on leads from the public.

“The most important thing is for people to be observant and report any suspicious activities to their local police agencies,” he said. “In regard specifically to school-related incidents, students should let a school official or, if available, a School Resource Police Officer know of the information or suspicion. We have to work together to try and prevent these and any other crimes.”

For many people in Kane and DeKalb counties, the Valentine’s Day shooting spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, echoes off the 10-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Northern Illinois University. Almost at the same time as the Florida shooting spree, students were laying memorial wreaths at Cole Hall, where five students lost their lives on Feb. 14, 2008.

According to a story in the New York Times, there have been at least 239 school shootings nationwide since 2012. In those episodes, 438 people were shot, 138 of whom were killed.

Active Shooter Drills

School and law-enforcement officials throughout Kane County say they are doing all they can to stay prepared and vigilant.

All school districts are required by the Illinois School Safety Act to have at least one hard lockdown/active shooter drill a year. Each district has documented protocol and crisis response plans, developed by a safety/security officer in the district.

The Kane County Regional Office of Education reviews each Kane County school district’s safety and security protocols during an annual Heath Life Safety review. The ROE also partners with First Responder Agencies to offer active shooter response training programs throughout the year, Regional Superintendent Patricia Dal Santo said.

“The ROE reviews each Kane County school district’s safety and security protocols during an annual Health Life Safety review,” she said. “During this review, the ROE works with the school district to ensure that their protocols are compliant with Illinois law and keeping students and staff safe in the event of an emergency.”

Gengler said the Sheriff’s Office partnered with the Sugar Grove Police Department last march and is partnering again to offer another two-day training course next month.

Ferrelli said the APD works in tandem with the school districts on a daily basis.

“We have school resource officers in the public middle and high schools and at Aurora Central Catholic,” he said. “We also stage regular training with them on a variety of topics.”

Police said today (Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018) that Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder at the South Florida high school. Wednesday’s shooting was the 17th incident of gunfire at an American school this year.