Man Charged With Calling In False Threat To "Shoot Up" Riverside High School
RIVERSIDE, Ill. (STMW) -- Police say a Brookfield man set up another man in a phony shooting threat to a west suburban high school on Friday to get back at him for a drug deal rip-off.
Nicholas J. Sikorski, 18, faces two felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly calling in the false tip that another man was going to "shoot up" Riverside Brookfield High School on Friday afternoon, according to Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel.
The school was put on a "soft lockdown" with no one allowed in or out of the building without police escort after someone called in the anonymous tip at 1:32 p.m. Friday, close to dismissal time, Weitzel said.
The caller said there would be a shooting at the school and named the possible shooter, police said.
Officers tracked down the named shooter-- a former student who lives in Maywood--and determined he hadn't been part of the threat.
Facebook postings indicated that Sikorski and the man he named had a disagreement over a drug rip-off, and when other police officers heard recordings of the threat, they recognized Sikorski's voice from past encounters, Weitzel said.
Sikorski was arrested Friday night and later gave a full confession to setting up the other man in retaliation for a drug rip-off that happened in the last few weeks, police said.
"At no time was any student or staff member actually in immediate danger," Weitzel said.
Police said Sikorski, of the 3800 block of Blanchan Avenue in Brookfield, is a former student who never graduated from the school.
Weitzel said extra police security was provided for Friday's basketball games, and that police would be at the school for drop-off Monday morning.
Riverside police will be seeking reimbursement for the cost of the Friday's response to the threat, which included numerous area police departments, Weitzel said.
Sikorski's bond was set at $75,000 on Saturday, and he is next scheduled to appear in court in Maywood on Tuesday, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)