Brookfield Zoo lockdown lifted after ‘threat’ forced customers and staff to shelter in place in incident outside Chicago
A THREAT against the Brookfield Zoo led to a lockdown on Tuesday as law enforcement asked customers and staff to shelter in place.
The scare at the zoo, located about 45 minutes from Highland Park, came on the heels of the mass shooting that claimed seven lives and injured more than two dozen people on Monday.
Police said in an update at 8.30pm local time that the incident stemmed from a call to a crisis intervention line at about 5.15pm.
A woman made threats to harm herself and guests at the zoo, local law enforcement reported.
A lockdown and shelter-in-place order was quickly ordered as Brookfield Zoo Police, along with about 50 officers from other jurisdictions, responded to the scene.
Officers worked to "methodically" clear the park, according to the zoo's Police Chief Mike Pendola.
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The zoo was scheduled to close at 6pm, so while many guests had left for the day, a number of staff and visitors remained in the park when the lockdown was issued.
"We do train for situations like this," Pendola said, adding that the "main priority is safety of visitors and staff."
There is no longer an active threat and the zoo has been deemed safe.
All staff and visitors were safely escorted from the zoo as of 8pm local time and normal operations were expected to resume on Wednesday.
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The Brookfield Zoo provided updates via its social media accounts as the situation unfolded.
It first shared news of a "potential threat" shortly after 6.20pm.
"The zoo is now closed however many zoogoers are still sheltering in place on site.
"Brookfield Police Department is working with Brookfield Zoo Police to actively investigate the situation throughout the park and surrounding area.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that guests on site remain sheltered in place until law enforcement provides the all clear."
The zoo later stated that Brookfield Police and Brookfield Zoo Police were sweeping the premises and releasing zoogoers building by building.
"If you are on site, please remain patient until law enforcement release you. We will share more information as soon as we receive it."
TERRIFYING MOMENTS
Payton Cariato, who was at the zoo with her family, exited The Swamp exhibit to find the zoo "very empty."
"We heard a man yelling at us and we turned around to a ton of armed officers. We quickly walked over to them and one officer asked us to go to our car and stay in there," Cariato told The US Sun.
Cariato says she and her family were led toward their car by a security guard, who then got called on his walkie talkie and led the family in a different direction.
";He then led us into a building. He told us to watch the windows and not open the doors for anyone," Cariato said.
"We found a bathroom in there and locked our selves in there."
It was just five of them in the building, Cariato said, including her mother, brother, and two sisters.
"We waited in there for about 30 minutes and called 911 to let them know we were in there.
"The same security guard came and unlocked the bathroom, and led us to another security guard who drove us to our car."
Cariato said it was about an hour total between the time they left the exhibit and the time they got into their car.
"Everyone in our family is safe, just really shaken up," she said.
Video from the scene showed numerous cop cars lined up outside the zoo.
CBS Chicago reported that the large police presence included units from Brookfield, Lagrange, and McCook police, as well as Cook County Sheriffs.
SWAT TEAM ON SITE
The outlet also reported that SWAT teams were escorting people out of the zoo one by one.
The Village of Brookfield Public Safety released a statement, saying, "Community Alert: As related by Brookfield Zoo, please know that the police presence at the Zoo is out of an abundance of caution for attendees and the surrounding community due to a potential threat.
"We will post an update. Please keep clear. Thank you."
News of the possible threat comes on the heels of the Highland Park mass shooting that claimed seven lives and injured dozens more.
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Just this morning, following yesterday's shooting, Brookfield Zoo tweeted a photo of two lions with the caption: "Hold your loved ones close."
The zoo is located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois.