Two Larkin High School students who allegedly made unfounded threats against the Elgin school via social media have been arrested on felony charges, Elgin police said.
The first incident occurred about 1 p.m. Monday when the school resource officer was notified of the threat by a third party, a police department Facebook post said. An investigation led the officer to 18-year-old Mani Davis, of the 1800 block of Mark Avenue, Elgin, who was charged with disorderly conduct-threat of violence at school, a class 4 felony.
Davis was released pending her next court appearance.
In the second case, the school resource officer and Larkin staff learned about 7:10 a.m. Tuesday of a second social media threat made, a post said. Again, the student was quickly located and charged with felony disorderly conduct-threat of violence at school.
The student, who was not identified because they are a minor, is being held in the Kane County Juvenile Detention Center pending their next court appearance.
In both case, the threats were deemed to not be credible.
This was the third threat-related arrest made since the beginning of the school year. On Sept. 4, the same day a Georgia teen killed four people and injured 13 others at his high school, a 15-year-old student was arrested for bringing a gun and ammunition into Elgin High School.
A school resource officer was notified by school staff that the teen might be armed, and an unloaded weapon was taken from him without incident, Elgin police said. They also found 10 rounds of ammunition separate from the firearm.
The student was charged with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and one of unlawful use of a weapon. It was the first time a gun had been found at Elgin High School since 2012, police said.
School District U-46 Superintendent Suzanne Johnson sent a note to parents Tuesday afternoon following the second arrest. The district is the largest in Illiniois outside of Chicago.
“I wish these types of threats were rare and isolated occurrences,” Johnson wrote. “However, we are seeing a sharp increase in these types of threats at all grade levels across our 11 communities. These threats are extremely disruptive to our learning environment and undermine the safe and welcoming climate and culture we are striving to create and maintain in U-46.”
Demanding that “these threats have to stop immediately,” Johnson stressed that any student who makes a threat will be prosecuted and that it’s important that parents talk to their children about the ramification of such actions.
It’s also important to be aware that children may feel anxious or overwhelmed by the threats, and that school staff are available to speak to them to allay their fears and explain the safety precautions the district has in place, she wrote.
“Please know, should the threat originate here, we will find the individual and arrest them as we have with these two students this week,” Johnson said. “We are committed to safety and will continue to take every necessary step to ensure it.”
