Joliet police have arrested and authorities have filed charges against two teenagers in connection with a series of violent threats against a school district over the weekend.
These threats led to the decision to have students stay home for an e-learning day on Monday, with officers ultimately finding the threats to be “bogus,” according to police.
In a news release, Joliet police said a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl were arrested on charges of aggravated disorderly conduct in connection with the threats, accused of transmitting a threat of destruction of school property or violence. , death or bodily harm to persons at school.
The older teenager is a student at Joliet West High School, which was one of the schools threatened.
The threats, aimed at numerous schools in Joliet and nearby Plainfield, made the rounds on social media Sunday.
Detectives identified one of the suspects and met with her at her home on Sunday. No weapons were found during a search and she was released.
On Monday, the same teenager was brought to Joliet police by his mother and she apparently admitted her involvement in making the threats. She was then taken into care.
At the same time, a 12-year-old girl was also arrested in connection with the case, accused of helping to spread a threat against Dirksen Junior High in Joliet.
That threat was also deemed unfounded.
Joliet police say they are continuing to investigate additional “copycat” posts imitating the original threats, and the case remains open.
The original threats circulated on social media and threatened “2 students with a gun in each school” and provided a list of several schools.
As a result, most schools in Joliet held e-learning days Monday, but in-person learning is expected to resume Tuesday, with officials saying there will be an additional police presence near area schools.