Evanston police are investigating the scene outside a middle school where witnesses say they found a decapitated body.
Evanston police say the investigation began when they received reports of a loud explosion around 4 a.m. near Nichols Middle School.
Resident Dale Wyatt says it shook his windows. So he went for an early morning walk with his dog when he found a body with no shirt and no head near the school grounds.
WYATT: We got about 15 feet away and I smelled - you know, it could smell like an explosion had gone off. You could smell it in the air. And then I got a little closer and at first, I honestly thought it was a sick practical joke. I thought it was a mannequin I was looking at with no head. But then I got a little bit closer and I realized that was a real body with no head laying between the fence and the tree there.
Wyatt says the neighborhood is normally very quiet.
Evanston police would not confirm the body was decapitated, but say another explosive device was found near the male body. The Cook County Bomb Squad detonated that device later in the morning. Police aren’t releasing any more details about the victim at this time.
Meantime, Nichols Middle School cancelled classes for the day.