2 Park Ridge juveniles arrested for making school threats

PARK RIDGE, Ill. (WLS) -- Park Ridge police said two juveniles were arrested Monday for posting threats against their school on social media.

Police said early Monday morning they received a tip about a 15-year-old boy and 12-year-old boy who had posted threatening messages on social media. Police said the messages showed the two juveniles holding a firearm and talking about using that firearm at Maine South High School summer classes.

Maine South's policy on guns is clear before you even enter: there are no guns allowed in the building. That made the threats by the students especially alarming, police said.

"Anything regarding a school with a picture of a handgun in it brings our senses up a bit and we wanted to take this as serious as we could, get to the bottom of it as quickly as we could before school started," said Commander Jason Leavitt, Park Ridge Police Department.

Police quickly identified the students and took them in for questioning before the beginning of the school day. Officers also seized three firearms from the home of the 12-year-old, police said. At least one of those firearms was confirmed as being used in the social media posts.

"I was frankly concerned the building wasn't locked down given that this took place at 6:30 a.m., and I believe summer school starts around 7:45 or 8 o'clock," said Rick Biagi, parent.

School District 207 alerted parents of the incident Monday afternoon with a statement that said in part, "...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."

Both students have been charged with one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of disorderly conduction, both felonies.

The students will be transferred to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center pending a custody hearing. Police do not believe any other people were involved in the incident.

Police said quick action ensured students safety. Now police are trying to determine who owns the guns they recovered in their investigation.