DeKALB | The security cameras DeKalb High School plans to install would have made the DHS security team’s job easier last Wednesday.

DHS security discovered a threat scrawled on the wall of a women’s restroom stall Wednesday.

“The threat was ambiguous, but we decided to do a security check of the building,” said DHS safety coordinator John Duback.

DHS principal Lindsey Hall called in the DeKalb Police and followed up by sending a letter home to parents.

“[The letter] informed them there was a big threat and [it was] investigated,” said Paul Beilfuss, DeKalb School District superintendent. “It heightened awareness with respect to these types of activities.”

Beilfuss said District 428 takes every threat seriously.

“We would investigate every incident in the same manner,” Beilfuss said. “I think some students and even parents don’t realize the serious nature of those threats and don’t realize that if we find the [culprit] we would [prosecute] the person to the full extent of the law for a terrorist threat, which is a felony.”

In a few weeks, when the new security cameras are in place, DHS officials hope incidents such as this one will be handled more efficiently. Cameras will not be installed in bathrooms, but they will be in the hallways. After a similar incident, the cameras would show who was in the hallway at a given time.

“The camera recordings are digitized by times,” Beilfuss said. “[We will] determine who was in the hallway and interview youngsters who were in the corridor.”

The responsible party was not found and no physical harm was done.

Stephanie Wise is a City Reporter for the Northern Star.