UPDATE: 'Loud Noise' Prompts St. Clair Schools Lockdown, No Danger Found

The lockdown went into effect at 9:18 a.m. and lasted until about 10 a.m., the chief said. He also said it was determined early during the investigation that the noise did not originate on school grounds.

“I heard it,” R-XIII Central Office employee Linda Davis said. “It did sound like a gunshot. Shortly thereafter, Chief Hammack came in and said to lock down all the schools as a precaution.”

Hammack said the noise was heard by several individuals near the Highway 30-Bardot Street intersection. The southeast side of that intersection is part of the high school campus that includes the junior high and Edgar Murray Elementary School.

Both St. Clair Elementary and St. Clare Catholic School are on East Springfield Road near the north end of Bardot Street.

“We talked to several residents on Bardot and Highway 30 and they confirmed they heard the noise,” Hammack said. “We never found the source and our investigation determined that everything was safe.”