CHICAGO, Ill. (FOX News) — A zoo about 30 miles from Highland Park, Illinois was forced to go into lockdown on Tuesday, after getting word of a potential threat.
Police said a woman called a crisis intervention line, and said she wanted to harm visitors at the Brookfield Zoo and herself on the zoo grounds.
Zoogoers and staff sheltered in place for about two hours until police could give the all clear. It turned out the call did not come from inside the zoo.
Mike Pendola, Chief of Police for the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, told reporters over 50 officers arrived when his small force made the call for assistance.
“State Police, Cook County, even if we needed a dog…we had a dog team here if we had a bomb source or something like that. We had a tremendous response of resources and I think the officers that responded did have that Highland Park incident in their minds,” Pendola said.
The chief couldn’t give man details about the caller, but he did say the F-B-I is helping in the investigation.
In nearby Highland Park, residents are still trying to cope with a mass shooting on the Fourth of July that left seven people dead.
