CRAWFORD CO. (Palestine), Ill.—The bomb scare yesterday that put Palestine School Unit 3 on soft lockdown has been resolved, but no arrests have been made yet.
However, authorities are saying that they have some suspects in mind, and they are focusing their investigation on these at this time.
The whole thing unfolded yesterday afternoon when a resident of Palestine, near the school, notice what she believed looked like a pipe bomb in her yard. She notified authorities and they observed the item, then called Illinois Secretary of State’s bomb squad in to detonate the device.
It was detonated and later examined thoroughly, and believed to have been essentially a homemade firework.
Because of the nature of the device, it falls under Illinois’ fireworks statutes, and if and when an arrest is made, it will be charged only as a misdemeanor. But because of the unknown nature of the device at the time, Palestine’s school was placed on “soft lockdown,” meaning that the students were secured inside the building as a precaution, then parents were allowed to come pick them up if they so chose.
When an arrest is made, we’ll bring it to you.