Police now have reason to believe a Sept. 10 phone threat against Bartlett High School did not originate locally, with a federal investigation now underway, the Bartlett Police Department told the Tribune on Thursday.
Local police received a tip on the afternoon of September 10 from the National Suicide Hotline about a potential violent threat against Bartlett High Schoolwhich led to the cancellation of leisure activities and additional security rounds being taken in during school dismissals. Eastview Middle School, Bartlett High School and several local elementary schools were placed in “secure building,” with entrances secured and monitored.
On Thursday, the Bartlett Police Department said it was working with federal partners, including the Justice Department, in a “complex investigation” to determine the origin of the call. Investigators have found “numerous VPN servers and proxy servers” used to hide the caller’s identity, some of which have been determined to be located outside the United States, police said.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the existence or non-existence of any specific investigation.
While other threats orientation local schools in recent weeks has spread via social media, the threat to Bartlett, in the northwest suburbs, was placed over the phone at a suicide call center. Dozens of schools in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs have received threats of violence since the start of the current school year.