A Crete elementary school was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning after receiving prank calls from a man threatening to fire shots at the facility, police said.
Balmoral Elementary School received multiple calls from a man threatening “to shoot the place up,” officials said.
Will County sheriff’s deputies traced the phone calls to the home of an 18-year-old man and his younger sibling in Crete, Crete police said.
“We believe it was more of a hoax than a threat,” Crete Police Chief Jim Paoletti said.
The school remained on a “soft lockdown” until early afternoon, police said. During the lockdown, two school buses containing Balmoral students, including band members, were rerouted to Crete-Monee Middle School as a safety precaution, according to school district officials.
Dennis Sullivan is freelance reporter at the Daily Southtown.
