'Loud Explosion' Of Stroller Tire Leads To Preschool Lockdown

SKOKIE, IL — A ruptured stroller tire caused a brief lockdown inside a Skokie preschool Tuesda, sending frightened parents rushing to pick up their children. Around 9:30 a.m., police were called to the Devonshire Cultural Center at 4400 Greenwood St. for a report that someone had fired shots, according to a statement from Skokie police.

Officers checked the inside and the outside of the building but didn't find a gun after an "exhaustive search."

Police soon determined the popping sound had been caused by "an over-inflated stroller tire" that had burst in an interior hallway of the building, which is operated by the Skokie Park District.

According to WGN, there were about 100 preschool students inside the community center at the time. Park district employees who implemented the school's emergency procedures thanked police for their quick response.

"They were here within a matter of minutes," said Jon Marquardt. “Ten years ago you could have just said this is a blown tire. That’s your first reaction. Now everybody’s first reaction is it’s gunfire or a an explosion,” he told the station.

There were no reports of any injuries and the community center went back to normal operations shortly after 10 a.m., according to police.

The Skokie Park District said in a statement the facility lock down was due to a report of a "loud explosion," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Several parents told WGN their kids didn't know what was going on during the ordeal, which reportedly involved corralling the students to wait silently inside the building's bathrooms. However, one student told his mother he believed they had been forced to hide in the bathroom because of a bomb.