Boy charged with posting threat to ‘shoot up' Oak Lawn high school on Snapchat
Oak Lawn Community High School (Google Street View)
SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE - A 15-year-old boy has been charged with making a social media post threatening a shooting at Oak Lawn Community High School.
Authorities were notified at 3 p.m. Sunday about a Snapchat post threatening to “shoot up” Oak Lawn Community High School, according to a statement from Oak Lawn Police Division Chief of Investigations Ross Finnelly. A 15-year-old student at the school was identified as the source of the post.
The post, which threatened a shooting at the school on Monday, was photographed and reported to school officials and law enforcement shortly after it was posted, according to a message to parents from Assistant Principal Marcus Wargin. While the original post has since been removed from Snapchat, pictures of it continued to be shared on social media.
The boy was questioned by detectives and admitted to posting the threat, Finnelly said. He was arrested and taken to the Cook County Juvenile Justice Center on a charge of threat of violence or death directed against persons at a school.
“The Oak Lawn Police Department along with the school administration are confident the incident has been contained and does not warrant a school closing,” Wargin wrote in the statement. Officers were stationed at the school on Monday.
The boy was expected to appear in court for a detention hearing on Monday, Finnelly said.
Another OLCHS student was questioned by police after rumors circulated earlier this month about a “kill list” at the school, but those rumors were determined to be unfounded and no criminal charges were brought against the girl.