Man Arrested for Claiming to Have Killed 19 Elementary Students in Lake County: Police

LAKE COUNTY, IL - A Waukegan man faces a disorderly conduct charge after allegedly calling authorities this past week and claiming to have killed 19 elementary school students in Lake County, police said.

The false claims landed Robert J. Simmons, 61, of the 3000 block of Belvidere Road, in jail after detectives traced the calls back to him, according to a Lake County Sheriff's Office press release. Simmons is accused of telling a dispatcher who took the call made to the sheriff's office on March 15, “I just killed 19 of your elementary school students in Lake County” and hung up the phone.

Simmons was arrested at his home and has been charged with a felony count of disorderly conduct. His bail has been set at $50,000.

He is next expected in court on March 21.