Police identify two suspects in Marion High School bomb threat, link them to extremist online group
FOX23 News at 9 p.m.
MARION, Ill., (KBSI) — Authorities have identified two suspects connected to an August bomb threat at Marion High School, including a 13-year-old from New York and an 18-year-old from Maryland.
According to an update released Tuesday, Oct. 20, by the Marion Police Department, investigators identified the suspects with assistance from New York State Police and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland.
Police said both suspects are associated with an online extremist network known as 764, a loosely organized group linked to the exploitation, coercion and abuse of minors and other vulnerable individuals.
Law enforcement officials describe 764 as part of a broader network associated with nihilistic violent extremism. The group primarily operates through online platforms and does not necessarily have a formal leadership structure.
According to police, individuals associated with the network may target minors and vulnerable people through social media, online gaming communities and messaging applications.
The case has been turned over to authorities in New York and federal investigators.
The investigation began Aug. 14, when Marion police responded to Marion High School around 8:04 a.m. after receiving an anonymous phone call reporting a bomb threat.
According to police, the caller claimed a backpack containing C-4 explosives had been placed inside one of the school’s restrooms.
Officers with the Marion Police Department, along with the Marion Fire Department and Illinois State Police, responded to the school.
With assistance from school faculty and staff, students were evacuated to the Crisp Sports Complex as authorities searched the building.
Police officers and firefighters conducted an initial search but found no explosive devices.
The Illinois Secretary of State Bomb Squad and a bomb-sniffing K-9 conducted an additional search, which also found no explosives.
Authorities subsequently cleared the building.
Students were allowed to drive home or were transported by bus to The Pavilion, where they reunited with their parents.
The Marion Police Department thanked the responding agencies, including the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency, which provided a mobile command vehicle during the incident.
Police said the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Marion Police Department at 618-993-2124.
