Two juveniles, one of whom was allegedly found in possession of several weapons, will appear in court Tuesday morning after allegations they threatened to open fire on summer school classes in a northwest Chicago suburb, authorities said.
The kids, ages 12 and 15, are accused of making threats against Maine South High School in Park Ridge on social media.
Authorities say an anonymous tip led officers to the 12-year-old's home Monday morning, less than two hours before summer school was in session, where multiple guns were found.
"While we were at the 12-year-old's home, we were able to recover three firearms, pistols, handguns," said Deputy Chief Lou Jogmen with the Park Ridge Police Department. "One of the handguns can be seen in the posting [on social media]."
The kids were charged Monday with unlawful use of a weapon and disorderly conduct, both of which are felonies, police said. They were identified by police and brought into the station for questioning before the start of classes at Maine South High School.
The two were transferred to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center pending a hearing, police said.
Police say they believe the two are the only suspects and are not investigating any other people in relation to the threats.
Maine Township High School District 207 released a statement Monday afternoon about the early morning arrests.
"As a result, school officials were confident that the situation was isolated and that there was no additional threat to any Maine South student or staff member, and classes were conducted as scheduled," the statement reads.
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Maine South High School is located in Park Ridge in the 1100 block of South Dee Road.
Police advise parents and students to report any threatening social media posts to law enforcement, even if it may be a hoax.
"For them not to try to determine the voracity of that themselves, but to pass it on to local enforcement so that we can act on it," Jogmen said.
