O'FALLON, IL. - O’Fallon Township High School District 203 lifted a soft lockdown at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, March 19, 2026, after a threatening phone call to its Milburn campus was traced by police and determined to be a swatting incident, the district said.
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The call was received “shortly after the start of the school day on Thursday” at the OTHS Milburn campus in O’Fallon, Illinois, according to a district statement. The O’Fallon Police Department was notified immediately, and “all campuses were placed on a soft lockdown while the matter was investigated.”
A swatting incident is the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.
“Law enforcement learned that similar calls were received at other schools across the state,” the district said. “Through their investigation, the O'Fallon Police Department was able to trace the source of the call and determined it was a swatting incident. No credible threat to OTHS was identified. The soft lockdown is now lifted.”
“Safety is always our top priority,” the district said. “We appreciate the prompt response of the O'Fallon Police Department and thank our students, staff, and families for their cooperation and patience as we addressed the issue.”