Arrest At Joliet West, Student Calls In School Shooting Threat: JPD

JOLIET, IL — A 14-year-old Joliet West High School student has been removed from the school and sent to the River Valley Justice Center for an indefinite period of time after Joliet police say the teenager threatened to shoot up his high school.

Joliet police investigated the threat and took the boy into custody, charging him with the crime of disorderly conduct.

The incident happened Wednesday morning.

According to Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English:

• At 9:24 a.m., officers responded to Joliet West High School at 401 N. Larkin Ave. after 911 calls were received from a male who communicated a threat of a shooting at the school.
• The Joliet Police Department detective assigned to the school was notified as well.
• Officers and school staff completed an extensive canvass of the interior and exterior of the high school grounds, and the threat was quickly determined to be unsubstantiated.
• During this investigation, a 14-year-old male student was identified as the suspect. Police believe he had taken another student’s phone without permission while that student was in gym class.
• The 14-year-old suspect used the phone to make numerous false 911 calls, making the unsubstantiated threat during one of the calls, according to police.
• The 14-year-old suspect was placed into custody without incident. The student’s phone was eventually located in the locker room.