Bogus active school shooting reports known as ‘swatting’ erupt in 22 Illinois cities, including at Chicago’s Whitney Young high
Schools in at least 19 counties, including in Chicago and Oak Lawn, dealt with reports of active shooters that turned out to be false on Wednesday, officials said.
As of 3 p.m. Illinois State Police said law enforcement in 19 counties dealt with “threats directed at schools,” totaling at least 21 calls in 21 cities.
Late Wednesday, police in southwest suburban Oak Lawn confirmed they also had one at a high school, making the tally 22.
“Responders have not located any actual threats as a result of these calls,” ISP said in a statement.
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School Principal Rickey Harris confirmed his West Loop school had been targeted by the false calls. It apparently occurred as SAT testing was scheduled at the school on South Laflin Street.
Someone had called 911 and alleged there was an active shooter inside the school, Harris said in a statement to students’ parents and guardians.
“CPD immediately responded and it was confirmed that the call was made as a prank,” Harris wrote. “At no point was there a safety threat to our school, and all of our students and staff are safe.”
SAT testing proceeded as scheduled after the false calls. Counseling and other support are available for students who voice any fears about the untrue but startling calls, Harris said.
Only juniors were at the school Wednesday, according to the school’s website.
The fake calls continued late into the day Wednesday, according to Oak Lawn police.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Oak Lawn emergency dispatchers received a call from a man who said he was inside of a high school and he threatened to start shooting, investigations Chief Gerald Vetter said.
The school was locked down and evacuated, though no threats were found, he wrote in a statement.
“Every precaution will be taken including assistance from the Cook County Bomb Squad to ensure the safety of the school,” Vetter wrote.
Vetter acknowledged the false school shooting calls made across the state and said the department will investigate to identify the caller.
According to state police, the cities and counties included Champaign in Champaign County; Springfield in Sangamon County; Chicago in Cook County; Freeport in Stephenson County; Aurora in DuPage County; Marion in Williamson County; Carbondale in Jackson County; Rockford in Winnebago County; Murphysboro in Jackson County; Mount Vernon in Jefferson County; Vienna in Johnson County; Dixon in Lee County; Decatur in Macon County; Granite City and Collinsville in Madison County; Centralia in Marion County; Bloomington in McLean County; Jacksonville in Morgan County; Peoria in Peoria County; Pittsfield in Pike County; and Eldorado in Saline County, state police said.
The ISP Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center had no information concerning credible threats related to school safety, according to the statement, which urged public and private security staffers to “remain vigilant and report all suspicious behavior to local police agencies.”
Rockford was also targeted. Earlier, police there tweeted that a large police presence was at East High School Wednesday morning investigating a report of a shooting that appeared to be false.
Laura Maher, a spokeswoman for the Rockford Police Department, later said, “at this time, we are working on confirming details, but it looks to be a false report.” Later, Rockford police tweeted that no shots were fired and there were no shooting victims.
Swatting means dangerous and illegal fake calls about an active shooter situation, typically at a school, according to the statement, which added that state and national intelligence agencies have seen a pattern of these fake calls; each call is taken seriously.
Last month, the Chicago Tribune detailed the rise of other swatting situations in the area.
