Woman charged with making threat that sent Brookfield Zoo into lockdown
BROOKFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- A woman has been arrested and charged after police said she made a threat that put Brookfield Zoo into lockdown on Tuesday.
The Chicago Zoological Society, which operates Brookfield Zoo, said the Chicago woman was charged Wednesday with one count of disorderly conduct with more charges possibly to follow. She was also evaluated by a crisis worker and sent to a local hospital for possible mental health treatment, the society said.
The woman voluntarily agreed to be escorted to the Brookfield police station for questioning after being located at her Chicago home, the zoological society said.
The zoological society did not release the woman's name.
"We are thankful that this unfortunate situation has been quickly resolved, an arrest has been made, and there is no longer any threat to Brookfield Zoo," Chicago Zoological Society Chief Mike Pendola said in a news release. We want to thank again our neighboring jurisdictions that quickly responded to the incident last evening and assisted the Brookfield Zoo Police Department in ensuring that all our guests, staff, and animals were safe."
Police said around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, less than an hour before the zoo was scheduled to close, a woman called a crisis hotline, threatening to harm herself and others at the zoo.
Visitors were told to shelter in place while police swept the zoo, and evacuated buildings one by one.
Police said after clearing the zoo, they learned that the woman making the threats wasn't even inside the zoo at the time.