Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Threatening Message Closes Schools In SD88!!!

According to a report in the Proviso Herald, a Bellwood elementary school and middle school will be closed Tuesday after a threatening message was found Monday afternoon on a bathroom stall.

Bellwood police received a call from school officials at 2 p.m. Monday who reported a message was found written in the bathroom at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, 2501 Oak St. The message, written in marker, read "Prepare to die 4/22/08," according to police.

School District 88 Superintendent Rosemary Hendricks took the advice of the police department and closed the school until further notice. Roosevelt Middle School, 2500 Oak St., will also be closed Tuesday as a precaution.

Bellwood Deputy Police Chief Richard Blass said bomb dogs from the Cook County Sheriff's Emergency Service Unit did a sweep of the building and found nothing. He said he hopes to have school back in session Wednesday.

Bellwood Police Commander Kevin Davis said the closing of the schools was a precautionary measure.

"In this day and age you have to be safe than sorry, especially after this incident at Northern Illinois University," he said. "You have to take precautions in this day and age."

As of Monday afternoon, Davis said there had been no arrests and police had no leads.

Anyone with information regarding the threatening message is asked to contact the Bellwood Police Department at (708) 547-3528.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Schools need to start thinking before just shutting down operations due to a phrase written down. All you need is one or two studnets to shut down an entire school for more than a day, and that should not be allowed.

While it is important that schols be vigilant, and safety is the top priority, officials need to stop and think before they shut down the school and disrupt the education process all becasue one trouble maker found a way to close the school. These schools are getting way to gunshy now, and it isn't good for the kids.