Threat leads to soft lockdown at Harvard High School

Harvard High School went on a soft lockdown about noon Thursday after someone shared a photograph to students’ cellphones that contained an impending threat of violence against the school, police said.

The Harvard Police Department was notified of the threat about 12:20 p.m., it said in a news release. The photo was airdropped – a way of sharing files among Apple devices – to the cellphones of students and conveyed a threat that violence would occur in the next hour at the school.

Working in conjunction with Harvard School District 50, the school was placed on a soft lockdown and then subsequently searched and cleared, according to the release.

The threat was deemed to be unfounded and about 1:30 p.m., the lockdown was lifted, police said.

Attempts to reach the District 50 superintendent Thursday were unsuccessful.

The Harvard Police Department is investigating the origin of the threat and trying to identify who sent it. Anyone with information is asked to contact the department at 815-943-4431.