No Shots Fired At Plainfield Central: District

PLAINFIELD, IL — On the same morning Joliet police reportedly took a teen into custody for making a phony report about a gun on campus, prompting a hard lockdown at Joliet Central High School, Plainfield parents got a scare as District 202 responded to another social media rumor of school violence. A message sent just before 9:30 a.m. assured Plainfield Central parents that rumors of shots fired at the high school were just that — rumors.

"There is inaccurate information on social media about shots being fired at Plainfield Central High School this morning and that the school is in lockdown," Plainfield Central administrators said in an alert. "There were no shots fired, and the school was never put into lockdown. The students and staff at Plainfield Central are safe and continuing on with a normal day."

A similar hoax threat happened two days earlier at Plainfield South, reportedly prompting increased police presence at the campus on Halloween after a teen saw a Snapchat message saying someone dressed as the Joker would shoot up the school. That, too, was unfounded, according to the district.

For some, anxiety has been high in Plainfield recently. On Oct. 3, Plainfield North was placed on lockdown as police searched for a wanted fugitive who allegedly ditched a stolen vehicle and was hiding out in Plainfield. The morning after police gave the all-clear, the suspect, a former sheriff's deputy in LaSalle County, allegedly carjacked a man outside a Plainfield farmhouse. He was taken into custody the next day. More recently, over the weekend, a woman was shot to death outside a Plainfield Jewel-Osco in what police are investigating as an apparent murder-suicide involving a couple in the process of divorcing.

The message sent to Plainfield Central parents on Wednesday morning had the subject heading, "Plainfield Central not on lockdown." Some parents posted the message to social media, saying it startled them.

In Joliet, police responded to a report of a gun on campus that turned out to be false for the second time in a week. The lockdown was lifted at around 9:30 a.m. A teenager who made the phony report was being charged with disorderly conduct. Police investigated a similar false report on Friday.

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