Niles School Gets Bomb Threat After Libs Of TikTok Post About Another Town Named Niles

NILES, IL — Police investigated a hoax bomb threat at a Catholic school in Niles, Illinois, on Friday that appears to have been intended for officials in another town named "Niles."

"There is not believed to be any credible threat to any Niles schools," Niles police said in a statement.

There are three other municipalities named "Niles" in the United States — one in New York, one in Ohio and one in Michigan.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m., a news media outlet forwarded an email that said a bomb had been placed in "Ballard Elementary School," according to Niles police, who said a similar emailed threat had been received in Niles, Michigan.

Police said they notified school administrators at Northridge Preparatory School, the Catholic school at 8320 W. Ballard Road, and called in a bomb-sniffing dog from the Cook County Sheriff's Office "out of an abundance of caution."

No explosives or other threats were found during the search, which did not require the school to be evacuated, according to police.

A disturbing video of a March 4 beating on a school bus in Niles, Michigan, was widely shared on social media earlier this month.

On March 13, the conservative social media account Libs of TikTok posted on social media about the bus beating, mentioning "Ballard Elementary School" in a follow-up post about 12 hours later.

A USA Today investigation last year verified more than two dozen cases of bomb, death and other threats that followed posts by Libs of TikTok, which is operated by former Brooklyn real estate agent Chaya Raichik.

On Friday, Raichik's account claimed that it constituted a "libelous b*bomb threat smear campaign against me!" to point out — as Highland Park Patch did last September — that her account posted about Red Oak Elementary School in Highland Park on Sept. 15 and that, starting on Sept. 21, it was the subject of three bomb threats in four school days.