School officials say someone left a threat in the bathroom of Lake Forest High School referencing a school shooter, which prompted a police response and the temporary closure of the school Saturday morning.
Lake Forest High School Principal Erin Lenart said in a letter to parents that a student went to use the restroom at the school’s east campus Saturday morning.
The student found one of the school evacuation maps graffitied with an image of a potential location for a school shooter and a derogatory statement made toward a staff member.
The graffiti was signed with a student’s name.
Staff in the building immediately called the police, alerted school security on campus and ensured that everyone present in the building was safe, Lenart said.
Lake Forest Police Department responded with several officers to investigate.
Lenart said she closed the campus and asked all students and guests to exit the building.
Police did a sweep of all classrooms, bathrooms, common spaces and other parts of the building.
The police department gave the school the all-clear around 12:45 p.m. Saturday and the building was reopened.
School administration said they thoroughly reviewed the camera footage around the bathroom and identified who entered and exited the bathroom.
They also determined when the bathroom was locked by staff for the evening and when it reopened Saturday morning.
“There was not a credible, potential threat to LFHS based on our review, although we will be speaking with specific students over the weekend,” Lenart said.
“It is highly unusual for a subject to publicly identify themselves when making a threat of this nature. We believe that this was done with the intent to provoke fear among the students and staff,” Lenart said.
The school is still investigating whether the incident is related to the bullet that was found on the library floor on Thursday.
“We continue to take any threat to our community very seriously, and we will always act swiftly and with great caution,” Lenart said.