Oak Lawn Community, Stagg Students Receive Bomb Threat Text

OAK LAWN, IL — Students at multiple high schools in the south suburbs received a jarring text Friday that a bomb was set to blow up their school buildings.

Shortly after classes started at Oak Lawn Community High School, several students received a text message containing a bomb threat. Students and parents immediately alerted school officials, and classes were dismissed at 11:15 a.m.

“We got police involved right away,” said Dist. 229 Supt. Dr. Michhal Riordan. “The message did not have a high level of credibility. Some kids at other schools got the same message ours did.”

Those who received the text tried to call or text back, but it didn’t go anywhere. Oak Lawn police are investigating.

“It’s stressing, it’s aggravating,” Riordan said. “It creates anxiety that already exists for people with everything else going on.”

The bomb threat appears have been sent by a third-party messaging system that went to a whole group of OLCHS students on their phones, Riordan said.

The same message — riddled with missspellings and repeated words — was sent to students at Stagg High School in Palos Hills. The name of the school was altered as well as descriptions of thhe dean's office staff.

A screenshot of the text message shared with Patch by parents, stated: “Stagg high school will be bombed today November 5, 2021” and “all students shall die today.”

The texter further warns the recipients that “the bomb will go off in 2 hours and yes this is a school threat.”

Students are warned that “time is ticking” and encourages them to report the bomb threat to the dean’s office "or a lot of you will die and make sure that brown haired dean knows she’s gonna get killed.”

A student who shared the message states: “Bruh who ever doing this crazy.”

Dist. 230 Supt. Bob Nolting told parents in an email that the that the text had been determined to not be a credible threat.Administrators at Sandburg and Andrew high schools had also received reports of a texted bomb threat circulating."

All three D230 buildingss were place on soft lockdown for remainder of Friday “out of an abundance of caution.” A photo shared with Patch showed dozens of Stagg students clamoring at the principal’s office trying to get dismissed for the rest of Friday.

Nolting requested students and parents not repost or recirculate the text so as not to increase fear and anxiety in students, their families and community members.

“This tactic has become a national trend that is both disappointing and disruptive to normal school operations," the D230 superintendent said. "As with any safety concern, we ask that students, staff and community members make a 'Say Something Report' to a trusted adult.”

OLCHS is encouraging anyone with information about the text’s origins or who might have sent it to contact the Oak Lawn Police Department at 708-422-8292, or OLCHS Resource Officer Detective Pete Hennessy directly via the main school phone number, 708-424-5200. The high school has also provided anonymous form for students to report additional information.

Riordan also encouraged members of the school community to fact check before spreading rumors, posting unverified information online, or responding on social media.

“Please contact the school or your local non-emergency police number to ask if they are aware of a rumored threat of violence. School officials may be limited in what we can say while an investigation is ongoing, but we ask for your trust that our staff along with local law enforcement are doing everything in our power to keep our students, staff, and school communities safe.”