At about 12:31 p.m. on 11-22-2019, the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call advising that a man was just observed walking into the front door of the Fulton Middle School (415 12th St.) with a handgun.
Officers responded to the call, locked down the Middle School, as well as the High School, and Elementary School, and advised the Unity Christian School to do the same. The schools were all secured, and Officers began protocols to investigate the situation. No immediate threat was noted shortly after the schools were secured, but information given by Dispatchers from Whiteside County told of the name and phone used to initiate the 911 call. Investigators, uniformed and plain clothed officers converged on a known residence located at 201 7th St Fulton. The suspected 911 caller was located, secured, and detained.
Information obtained from the suspect removed the immediate threat for the schools, and placed them in a soft lock-down. At about 1:43 p.m., the soft lock-down was released and the students safely left the school. There were no incidents at any of the schools in the area.
During the course of the Investigation the 911 call was placed in an effort to pull Deputies and officers with the Whiteside County Fugitive Apprehension Team away from a location south of Fulton to allow for the escape of other wanted subjects. During this incident, Whiteside County Fugitive Apprehension Team subsequently obtained a search warrant and arrested Kelsey D Beswick Female, 25 of Fulton on warrants for failure to appear for aggravated fleeing to elude and Aaron W Eads 33 of Fulton on a warrant out of Clinton County Iowa.
Investigators from Fulton, Whiteside County, and Albany subsequently arrested William J. Temple, 37, of Fulton for multiple felony charges of Disorderly Conduct for the 911 call. This investigation is ongoing and additional charges will be reviewed.
William Temple was transported to Whiteside County Jail pending an initial appearance with Whiteside County Courts.
The Fulton Police Department would like to thank the following departments and agencies for their assistance in this response and investigation. Whiteside County Dispatch, Clinton County Dispatch, Clinton Police Department, Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, Clinton County Emergency Management, Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department, Blackhawk Area Task Force, Morrison Police Department, Erie Police Department, Albany Police Department, Illinois State Police and the Fulton Fire Department.
Without assistance from area agencies, responses like this can become more dangerous and confusing. With this incident, the overall response, deployment, and detainment was quick and efficient.
Reminder all subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.