Crete-Monee Threat Puts Students and Parents on Alert

A Crete-Monee High School student was arrested at home Tuesday morning on a felony disorderly conduct charge after a shooting threat circulated on social media, the school district and police said. Police said the juvenile suspect, whose identity wasn't publicly released, had no immediate access to guns.

The Threat and Arrest

Crete police received notice Monday evening of a potential threat against the school and began investigating. Police Chief Scott Pieritz shared an image that appeared to show a screenshot of a YouTube live chat during a high school football game.

One user wrote, “Don't be at crete tuesday at 9AM.” A later message read, “putting my AR to work.” Police said officers arrested the student at home Tuesday morning and charged the student with felony disorderly conduct.

Police said the information they received indicated the threat was verbal. “At this time, all information received indicates this was only a verbal threat,” police said in a joint news release with Crete-Monee School District 201-U. The department called verbal threats of this nature “extremely dangerous, disruptive, and disturbing.”

Police said the suspect had no immediate access to guns. The statement didn't say whether the suspect owned or could access a firearm at another time; it described only the suspect’s immediate access.

Parents and the School Response

As the post spread, several parents said they were disturbed and would keep their children home Tuesday morning. The district didn't respond to questions about how many students missed school that day, so the number remained unreported.

Police and the school district developed a safety plan that included a heightened police presence at the school. The joint release described the plan and arrest, but didn't give the number of officers assigned or students who attended.

The district and police issued a joint account of the arrest and threat. It didn't describe a proposal for a new school policy or identify any union, organized student group, or other movement involved in the response.

Other School Threat Reports

The report linked the Crete-Monee threat to recent threats in Tinley Park and Oak Forest. A Tinley Park teenager was charged Sept. 23 with a felony for threatening a shooting at Central Middle School.

The next day, Oak Forest High School went into lockdown after a caller claimed he was in a school bathroom with guns and a homemade bomb. The report didn't say whether authorities identified or charged the caller.

In Crete, police began investigating after receiving notice Monday evening. By Tuesday morning, officers had arrested the student at home, and the district and department had arranged a heightened police presence. Parents’ decisions to keep children home were reported, but the district didn't provide the number of absences.