Active shooter threat at Willis Tower quickly ‘debunked,’ police official says

Reports of an active shooter at Willis Tower on Wednesday afternoon were unfounded, police officials said.

The call of the threat came in at 3:45 p.m., Chicago police said. The report was for an active shooter targeting the 50th floor, but Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said in an unrelated news conference the reports were quickly “debunked.”

“But at the same time, we’re taking due care in ensuring that there’s no other activity occurring so that we can obviously relieve some of the concerns [of] many who work in and around Willis Tower, that they’re safe,” he said. “Beyond that, obviously we take all of these reports seriously until we are able to debunk them.”

Brown added: “Given current circumstances in this country with gun violence, particularly mass shootings, we’ve gotta take every precaution necessary to ensure that that’s not accurate, that there’s not any concern for public safety and that we obviously deal with perceptions of safety as well.”