DIXON – A small village of law enforcement, officials and other personnel worked in sync Wednesday with a singular goal: to make sure things didn’t get worse.
The incident happened in minutes, police have said, as Matthew A. Milby Jr. opened fire into the Dixon High School gym full of about 180 seniors rehearsing for graduation, and school resource officer Mark Dallas confronted him, pursued him outside as Milby shot back at him, and returned fire, striking Milby in the shoulder.
“What really stopped this from getting worse initially was the actions of the school resource officer,” Lee County Sheriff John Simonton said. “He put himself between the students and the shooter and stopped the threat.”
What happened next was a rippled response throughout the day that included upward of 50 law enforcement officers collaborating with “no arrogance or attitudes” or quarrels about jurisdiction, he said. “It was really remarkable how everyone reacted and worked together.”
Dixon Police Chief Steve Howell said it was an impressive force that responded and offered help.
“Overall, we believe the response from everyone involved went extremely well,” he said.
A sheriff’s deputy was one of the first on the scene and helped to clear and secure the area. At first, police said, they weren’t 100 percent sure that Milby was acting alone, and more law enforcement arrived to give the building a second clear and start to evacuate students and faculty.
That also included having a rescue task force of firefighters and paramedics on hand to treat anyone who might be injured.
Other steps were establishing a central command post – Simonton brought out the county’s emergency response trailer with the help of the fire department – creating a staging area and traffic posts, and securing the crime scene for the investigating agencies.
The Peoria Avenue Bridge and nearby roads were blocked by officers and city public works employees, news releases were sent to media outlets, and the Ogle and Whiteside County sheriff’s departments were standing by to handle other calls in Dixon and Lee County.
A tactical dispatcher was set up in the trailer within 45 minutes of the shooting, allowing for immediate action to communications coming in, and all of the pieces were coming together to keep the situation under control, Simonton said.
Students accompanied by officers were directed to the baseball fields in Page Park, where they waited for their parents to pick them up.
There will be an after-action review next week for the departments to go over what happened, how they responded and what they could do differently, but looking back on the day, Simonton said they were “on the right track” following training policies and procedures.
“The training and preparation was demonstrated time and time again that day,” he said.
A review also will be done for the school and likely for city officials.
Training for this type of event was years in the making, Howell said.
“While we hoped to never have this happen in our community, the coordination and execution during the event by all involved was extraordinary. Communication was excellent, and everyone stepped up where they were needed,” Howell said.