Deb Echelberger and her son Chanler left school Thursday, still a little shaken up over a criminal shockwave hitting rural Winnebago.
"Never heard of a bank robbery out here, so kind scary," Chanler Echelberger said.
"To have this happen in the little town of Winnebago, it's quite the event," Deb Echelberger said.
An event striking late Wednesday afternoon at the US Bank.
By Thursday, authorities had 42-year-old Mark Wasserman of Rockford in custody, a man they considered homicidal and on the run.
"You figure our kids are all in one area and if he really wanted to, he could have done something to the kids," Deb Echelberger said.
Winnebago schools were on lockdown Thursday because of the incident.
"We had to lock all the doors and stay in our classrooms and couldn't go outside," Chanler Echelberger said.
Chanler says the robbery was the most popular subject at school Thursday.
Some students even said they knew the suspect.
"Everyone was talking about it," Chanler Echelberger said.
Now everyone is just relieved to have some closure to an alarming turn of events around town.
"Happy and better so we can play outside and we don't have to worry about it," Chanler Echelberger said.
"Just knowing I could pick up my son today and see him coming out the door. It's a relief," Deb Echelberger said.
Wasserman is in custody at the Winnebago County Justice Center.
His first court appearance on federal bank robbery charges is here in Rockford Friday morning.
Authorities say they found Wasserman leaving an Elgin motel Thursday along Route 31.
They say leads pointed them to that area where they saw Wasserman in a dark colored SUV and pulled him over.
He was not armed at the time and cooperated during his arrest.