Nearby schools were alerted as a precaution while officers searched the area. Police later found the individual, who was carrying a pencil — not a knife — and said there is no threat to the public. A report of a knife-wielding person in Chicago’s northwest suburbs set off a police search and school safety alerts Thursday — but the supposed weapon turned out to be a pencil. As a precaution, authorities alerted nearby schools while officers searched the area. Police soon located the individual, only to find the reported "knife" was actually a pencil.