Crime & Safety
Authorities Searching for Caller Who Claimed He Killed His Parents
The call was a hoax, police said, and resulted in police agencies surrounding a home in Hawthorn Woods Thursday morning.
Several agencies responded to a home in Hawthorn Woods on Thursday morning after a person called and reported he’d killed his parents and planned to detonate a bomb. The call, police later learned, was a hoax and authorities are now searching for the person who placed the call.
The 911 call came in at 11:28 a.m. The caller, who identified himself as a 19-year-old who lived at 184 Bluebird Court in Hawthorn Woods, told dispatch he had just murdered his two parents and then hung up.
The Hawthorn Woods Police Department responded and set up a perimeter around the residence, according to a news release.
About five minutes after the first call, Lake Zurich dispatch received a second call from someone who sounded to be the same person, according to a news release. The caller said his sister was inside the residence with him and he had a bomb. He said he would not surrender to police officers, but instead was going to detonate the bomb.
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Hawthorn Woods Police requested the assistance of neighboring police departments and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. They also requested a response from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Response Team.
Investigators quickly worked to identify the homeowners of 184 Bluebird Court. They found the name the caller used belonged to a family who no longer lived there. Investigators located the family in a nearby community and all were found to be safe. They also reported they received numerous harassing telephone calls over the course of the day, according to police.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Response Team entered 184 Bluebird Court and found nothing suspicious. Nobody was inside the residence and there was no indication of foul play. Investigators made contact with the new homeowners and all were found to be safe, according to a news release.
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Hawthorn Woods Police in conjunction with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division is investigating and trying to determine who made the call.
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