Crime & Safety
Senior Prank Leads to 2 Arrests at Andrew High School
Two women who took part in a prank earlier this month are accused of disorderly conduct, police said. They pulled fire alarms during Advanced Placement tests at school, according to reports, forcing students to retake those exams.
Police arrested two high school seniors this month who they said each set off fire alarms at school during Advanced Placement tests, rendering those tests invalid.
Officers were contacted May 17 by a dean at , 9001 W. 171st St., , who said he wanted two women arrested, according to the report. At 2:37 p.m. Thursday, someone pulled the fire alarm at the school, police said. That incident was followed by two additional fire alarm activations.
The first alarm was pulled on a wall unit and the second alarm was set off by a smoke detector, the dean said. He identified Samantha R. Oleksy, 18, of Orland Park, as the one who pulled the first alarm, which was between the sixth and seventh class periods, according to the report.
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"All students had to evacuate the school and the students (who) were taking their AP/Advanced Placement tests had the tests voided due to the incident," the report said.
The second alarm was activated at 2:45 p.m. by Madeline J. Regan, 18, of Tinley Park, the dean said. School administrators and authorities were still investigating this week to determine who pulled the third alarm, they said.
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"Samantha stated that it was the last week of school and the seniors were supposed to pull pranks and she felt the seniors weren't pulling pranks so she took it upon herself to pull a fire alarm, which she thought would disrupt school for five or 10 minutes," the report said, citing Oleksy's statement to police.
She said that around 2:30 p.m., she pulled the third-floor fire alarm and then exited with the rest of the students, the report said. Regan told police that she had talked to Oleksy and thought pulling the fire alarms would be a good senior prank, officers said.
"Madeline advised that on Thursday …. when the students were allowed to re-enter the school, she was in the second floor female bathroom when she lit a cigarette and held the match near the wall sensor, activating the fire alarm," the report said. She then left the school with the other students.
The women were charged with one count each of disorderly conduct. Bail was set at $1,500.
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