The Champaign and Urbana police departments have identified the residence that made phone calls to both Carrie Busey Elementary School in Champaign and Urbana High School on Sept. 12, which suggested that potential violence may take place in area schools. Police have not yet determined if the suspect lived in the residence.

Although there are no suspects in custody, Urbana police Sgt. Dan Morgan said the schools do not seem to be in danger.

“It would be incorrect to classify the calls as a threat,” Morgan said. “The caller stated more of a generalization that students carry guns in schools. The caller did not seem aware of a specific threat.”

The Urbana High School administration first heard the call when it listened to the school’s voice mail the morning of Sept. 13.

“The telephone message left at Urbana High School warned that there were ‘guns and stuff in schools’ and said the warning was for ‘Urbana Middle School, Urbana High School and all the schools in the area,'” said Mark Schultz, spokesman for the Urbana school district.

The administration alerted the police, and together they analyzed the situation. They decided to keep school in session but to have heightened security for the day, Schultz said.

The Urbana schools’ security has since returned to normal.

“The Urbana school district takes security precautions everyday,” Schultz said. “The doors are locked, visitors have to buzz in and sign in at the principal’s office and the staff is always on the look out for anything out of the ordinary.”

A similar phone call was made to Carrie Busey Elementary School in Champaign, said Michael McFarland, the assistant superintendent for achievement and pupil services in Champaign’s school district.

“The caller basically said he had overheard some people talking and that someone was planning to get some guns and shoot up all the schools in the area,” McFarland said.

After receiving the message, the school district evaluated the nature of the crisis and notified all Champaign schools. It brought in additional administration to monitor the schools and turned the investigation over to the police. A letter was also sent home to parents, notifying them of the situation.

Kristian Sargeant, a Champaign resident, has a fourth-grade daughter who attends Carrie Busey Elementary. Initially, Sargeant was very concerned for her daughter’s safety and had a co-worker pick her up from school early. Upon hearing more about the situation, she reasoned that it did not pose a major threat.

However, Sargeant appreciated the administration’s response to the situation.

“I think they did a great job,” she said. “They kept us up-to-date, which is always nice.”

Both the Champaign and Urbana police departments are continuing to investigate the messages. According to a news release, anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Investigation Division at 351-4545. Callers who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 373-TIPS.