(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Administrators at Lake Forest High School and a few other area schools were placed on temporary lockdowns on Wednesday after a fake bomb threat was called into the Lake Forest Police Department, officials said.
Lake Forest police received the threat shortly before 10:45 a.m. when a caller stated there was a bomb placed inside the high school.
While officers and school officials were searching the school, the police department said two other callers informed dispatchers that “active violence” was taking place inside Lake Forest High School. Both of those callers had out-of-state telephone numbers, police said.
Officials said the second and third calls were “immediately determined to be false.”
Nonetheless, Lake Forest High School and surrounding area schools were placed on a limited lockdown. The police department said it consulted with District 67 and 115 administrators before lifting the lockdowns.
Lake Forest police officials said they believe it was an instance of “swatting,” in which a person calls in fake reports of serious crimes in order to prompt an emergency response. The department said these calls are becoming more common.
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