Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Bomb Threat At Niles West Deemed Not Credible
Caller said a "Niles school" would be targeted; officials at District 219 tightening security.
A bomb threat received Tuesday at Niles West High School was ruled not credible by Skokie police, according to Jim Szczepaniak, the spokesman for Niles Township High School District 219.
The caller making the threat phoned at 2:54 p.m. that day, and school ends at 3:20. Szczepaniak said the school immediately got in touch with Skokie police and remained in constant contact with them.
"We were comfortable enough with the situation we figured we'd continue with school Wedneday," Szczepaniak said.
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He described the situation as being back to normal.
Niles West principal sent a letter to faculty and staff Tuesday telling them the school was on heightened alert and that police were continuing to investigate.
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A student newspaper at Niles West News, reported that a caller who identified himself as "Frank Anderson" phoned the school Tuesday, Oct. 4 and said that a Niles school would be the target of a bomb.
In response, Principal Kaine Osburn and the school's security personnel beefed up security measures and worked with the Skokie Police Department. Niles West is located in Skokie and students from Niles, Morton Grove, Skokie and Lincolnwood attend it.
Earlier:
Security also coordinated with Niles North and Niles Central High Schools, which are the other two schools in Niles Township High School District 219.
Szczepaniak said the district is using the situation as an opportunity to contact parents to ask them for their email addresses. In a real emergency, the district would need to communicate with parents, and it has less than 50 percent of parents' email addresses on file. The district sent a hard copy of a letter home with students Wednesday to ask for their email contact information.
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