A “threatening e-mail” forced the evacuation of a suburban school Friday morning and sent hundreds of students home for the day.
Lemont High School said it was evacuating its building after alerting authorities to a threatening e-mail message they received.
“We immediately updated the local authorities, and upon their advice, have evacuated the school,” the school said in an alert on its website. “In order to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff, we have evacuated the building.”
The evacuation began around 11 a.m. and 1,350 students were sent home as investigators combed the building.
The message was said to be a bomb threat, according to District 210 Superintendent Mary Ticknor and Lemont Police Chief Marc Maton, but the content of the email was not being released.
Students were being taken home via their normal afternoon routes, students who walk home were being told to go home as they normally would and students that drive were asked to take their cars home.
Students normally picked up at the end of the day were being transported to Central School on McCarthy Road where parents could pick them up, officials said.
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“We apologize for the brevity of this message, but wanted you to be aware of this as soon as possible,” the alert read.
Friday evening’s girls’ basketball games at home have also been postponed.
Check back for details on this developing story.
