La Salle County prosecutors will try to have a Bloomington man detained for threatening to blow up an Ottawa school, where police said he threatened to conduct a mass shooting.
Bruce A. Sirtoff, 37, was charged Monday in La Salle County Circuit Court with four felonies led by making a terrorist threat, a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation.
In the criminal information filed Monday, Sirtoff is alleged to have “threatened to shoot parents and students and blow up Shepherd Middle School” early Friday, March 1.
The incident occurred not at the school but at a service plaza on Route 71, where Ottawa police encountered Sirtoff and determined he was not in compliance with a registry requirement. During the ensuing arrest, Sirtoff allegedly made the threats and caused minor injuries to two officers.
A search warrant conducted of Sirtoff’s residence with the Bloomington Police Department turned up “no items consistent with his threats.”
Nevertheless, La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro said the detail of Sirtoff’s statements was too great to ignore.
“The threats were specific enough to cause us alarm because he mentioned a date when he would do it, what he was going to wear and so forth,” Navarro said. “Whether he was ranting and raving or not, you cannot disregard that.”
Sirtoff was taken to a local hospital but then transferred to La Salle County Jail at 4:18 p.m. Monday. A detention hearing before Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. could be held Tuesday.
Sirtoff also is charged with three lesser felonies. These include one count of disorderly conduct, for conveying the threat to an Ottawa police officer, and two counts of resisting a peace officer. Those charges all are Class 4 felonies carrying one to three years in prison.
The Ottawa Elementary School District issued a statement on social media.
“An incident occurred off campus during the early morning hours of Friday, March 1, 2024, whereby an adult in police custody made a threat towards the school district. We have been informed by the Ottawa Police Department that the threat was not against an individual directly and was contained immediately. As this is an active police matter, all inquiries should be directed to the police department. We have and will continue to work collaboratively with the Ottawa PD as we take all threats seriously. The safety and health of our students and staff will always be our No. 1 priority.”