Police boost presence at Plainfield Central High School after unfounded bomb threat

Plainfield — Officers have beefed up security Thursday at Plainfield Central High School following an alleged bomb threat that turned up empty, police said.

On Thursday morning, staff at Plainfield Central High School, 24120 Fort Beggs Drive, received a phone call from an “unknown male” claiming there were bombs located in the school, Plainfield police Cmdr. Anthony Novak said.

The school is close to Route 59 and roughly nine miles northwest of Joliet. Officers searched the school building with administrators.

The threat was unsubstantiated, Novak said.

“The school resumed normal operations with additional presence from the police department,” Novak said.

Plainfield police alerted the public about the incident on their Facebook page.

The school’s administration sent a message to parents about the “rumor of a possible threat in the building.” The school was “immediately put into a hold in place.”

A “hold in place” means students remain in their current locations until further notice, according to Plainfield District 202 spokeswoman Linda Taylor.

Once the threat was found to not be credible, the hold in place was lifted and students were released to their classes, according to the school’s message.

School officials across the nation have been on high alert after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos shot and killed 19 students and two teachers on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The Joliet Police Department announced on Wednesday more presence at all schools within its jurisdiction for the rest of the school year.