Crete-Monee Threat Prompts Arrest, Parent Alarm

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

Threat and Arrest

Crete police learned of a potential threat Monday evening 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,” then followed with, “putting my AR to work.”

Parents were alarmed. Several said they'd keep their children out of school Tuesday morning as the threat circulated. The district didn't respond to inquiries about how many students were absent that day, so officials didn't report how many stayed home.

Police and the school district developed a safety plan, including a heightened police presence. The joint news release announced the arrest and described the suspect as a student at the school. It didn't publicly identify the juvenile.

Police Response and School Safety

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. The department also called threats of this nature “extremely dangerous, disruptive, and disturbing.”

The statement drew a specific distinction: police said available information pointed to a verbal threat, while stressing how seriously they treated it. The arrest came after the investigation began, following police notification Monday evening. The safety plan called for a heightened police presence at the school Tuesday.

The account didn't say the suspect had immediate access to guns. Police said the student had no such immediate access. Nor did the account report how many students were absent, despite inquiries to the district.

Other School Threat Reports

The report placed the Crete-Monee threat alongside school 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.

A day after that threat, Oak Forest High School went into lockdown when a caller claimed he was in a school bathroom with guns and a homemade bomb. The account didn't report whether officials verified the caller's claims.

In Crete, police and school officials responded to the social media messages with an investigation, an arrest and a safety plan that increased police presence. Parents' decisions to keep children home also drew attention, but the district didn't provide an attendance figure. The release and report state no demographic effects or transfer of decision-making power beyond the local police and school response described.