Skokie man charged with making bomb threats to schools

SKOKIE, Ill. - A Skokie man has been charged with making bomb threats to several schools in north suburban communities.

Jacob Spiro, 23, was arrested Monday in Niles and charged with two felony counts of falsely making a terrorist threat and three felony counts of disorderly conduct.

From September to October, Skokie police received 16 bomb and violence threats, some of which were at local schools, police said. Eleven other threats occurred in Niles, police said. Spiro was linked to all 11 of the incidents in Niles through digital forensics, according to Niles police.

Glenview police said between March and October, they received five reports of bomb and violence threats at local businesses. One of the disorderly conduct charges was filed against Spiro for a fake 911 call allegedly made to a business in the 2700 block of Old Willow Road.

Several other nearby suburbs also received similar threats during the same time period including Morton Grove, Northbrook and Wilmette. After investigation, none of the threats were deemed credible. Police did not say exactly how many total threats they believe Spiro was responsible for.

Police said Spiro, who lives in Skokie, could face additional charges for making threats at other locations. Spiro is scheduled to appear Wednesday for a pre-trial release hearing.