Bartlett High School was evacuated Wednesday as police investigated a reported threat.
According to CBS Chicago, the Bartlett Police Department said the evacuation was carried out “out of an abundance of caution” while officers investigated the threat, though the exact circumstances behind it were not disclosed.
Police were notified about the reported threat at about 1:20 p.m.
A Second Suburban School Threat in Two Days
The Bartlett scare came just one day after Oak Forest High School in suburban Cook County was placed on lockdown and dismissed early following a reported threat. A caller claimed to have shot someone inside a school bathroom and said a shooter and explosive device were on campus, triggering a SWAT response and an FBI investigation; authorities found no evidence of a real threat, according to Patch. Hoodline covered that SWAT team building sweep in detail.
September reports described a possible threat in Granite City, false reports in Rockford, Freeport and Dixon, and a prank call in Mount Vernon. It remains an open question whether investigators have identified the source of Wednesday's call or whether state or federal authorities suspect a coordinated swatting campaign across Illinois school districts.
Bartlett Has Faced This Before
This is not the first time Bartlett High School has been disrupted by a phoned-in threat. In September 2024, Bartlett High School and neighboring district schools were placed under a “secure learning” lockdown after a threat routed through the National Suicide Hotline prompted a joint investigation by Bartlett police and the FBI, as Hoodline reported at the time. That 2024 threat forced the cancellation of afterschool activities and led to heightened security during dismissal.
Under Illinois law, transmitting a threat of destruction, death, or bodily harm directed at a school or the people inside it constitutes felony disorderly conduct, punishable by up to three years in prison and fines as high as $25,000, according to the Illinois General Assembly. State statute classifies threats against schools as Class 4 felonies regardless of whether school is actively in session.
Timing Hits During Homecoming Week
Wednesday's threat landed squarely in the middle of Bartlett High School's Homecoming week, which included hallway decorating competitions and themed event ticket sales ahead of a dance scheduled for Saturday, September 26, according to the school's own announcements. Bartlett High School is the only public high school within the Village of Bartlett, operating a 396,000-square-foot campus on 22 acres that opened in August 1997 and was originally designed for up to 2,800 students, per Wikipedia.
Bartlett High School is part of Elgin Area School District U-46.
