Illinois State Police looking at handwriting samples

MONTICELLO – With Monticello schools closed for the summer, the first phase of the largest operation in Monticello police history has concluded, and the department has shifted focus from providing security to investigating a threat.

The Illinois State Police requested and received additional handwriting samples from three female "persons of interest" related to the April 19 threat discovered in a girls' bathroom at Monticello High School. The message, "This will be Virginia Tech in 5 days," was written in black marker across a mirror and discovered by a school employee.

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