Police: Man Charged With Making Threats Reveled In Sandy Hook Massacre
AURORA, Ill. (STMW) -- A man accused of posting online threats of killing people on the campus of North Central College in Naperville also appeared to have taken delight in the Dec. 14 mass-shooting murder of 26 elementary school children and teachers in Newtown, Conn., according to Naperville police reports.
"(W)hen I heard that a kindergarten was shot up, I was really hoping that it was a kindergartener (sic) doing the shooting."
"It would have been quite hilarious. Oh well, maybe next time."
Those words were allegedly posted the day after the Sandy Hook tragedy by Aden D. Khan, 20, of Madison, Wis. He is being held in DuPage County Jail in Wheaton on $50,000 bail.
Naperville police on Friday went to Dane County Jail in Madison to bring Khan to Illinois. He faces trial here on two felony counts of making a false report of a threat to a school building or persons in connection with the North Central College incident, according to DuPage County Circuit Court documents.
Copies of police records obtained by The Sun through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed Khan allegedly described himself in online postings as "a sadist" with "sociopathic" tendencies, one who reputedly had "plans in dealing with the police when he becomes involved in a school shooting," and who called the Sandy Hook shooter "a true American hero."
Naperville police began investigating Khan after meeting March 5 with North Central College's chief and deputy chief of campus security.
Detectives were told students, faculty and staff members on Feb. 21 had alerted Kimberly Sluis, the college's dean of students, to the creation of a "Facebook Fansite" entitled "North Central Confessions," which was illustrated with photos of the campus, according to the records.
The website allowed students and others to anonymously voice their opinions about the college. The site had no affiliation with the school.
Records indicated Sluis about 1:30 p.m. March 5 read a posting on the site that declared, "I bring a gun to school every day. Someday someone is going to piss me off and end up in a bag."
Sluis, "fearing (for) the safety of the students, faculty and staff," contacted campus security officers. Records showed college administrators "were considering putting the school on lockdown," but because "a massive snowstorm was occurring in our area at this time," opted instead to end classes for the day at 5 p.m.
Police investigators subsequently discovered another message that had been posted two or three hours earlier. It stated, "NCC needs to learn their lesson about snow days. It won't happen until someone is killed."
Detective Rich Wistocki, who oversees the police department's High Tech Crimes Unit, began investigating the threats and identified Khan as the author of the postings. Wistocki contacted Khan via telephone and learned "Khan did place the posts on the website," according to the records.
Wistocki in the records quoted Khan as saying the postings were "a joke."
"I don't know why you are wasting taxpayer resources on a joke," Khan allegedly said. "Everyone knows that if it's on Facebook, it's a joke. You are wasting your time, Detective."
Wistocki said he replied that in the Sandy Hook killings, as well as notorious mass-shootings at a political rally in Arizona and a movie theater in Colorado, "the shooters posted almost the same type of message on message boards, social networks or in e-mail as well. Khan again related, 'You're wasting your time.' "
Khan throughout their conversation "was nonchalant about the threats, (stating) that it was a joke," the reports read in part. Wistocki said he also learned Khan did not attend classes at North Central and was unemployed.
"I asked him if all he did all day was game and play on the computer," Wistocki wrote. "Khan related, 'Pretty much at this time. I plan on looking for a job once the snow melts.' "
"Khan further advised that he had a friend who called him, suggesting he place the posts as a joke." The friend was later identified as a female North Central student Khan met on a Facebook forum, and with whom Khan exchanged numerous e-mails prior to the alleged posting of the threats.
Wistocki said he later met with the student and her lawyer, and upon reading the messages she and Khan exchanged, "it was obvious" the North Central Confessions website "was the idea of Khan, and also the posting of the gun and killing annotation was all of Khan's doing. At no time did I observe (the student) advise or inform Khan to make this posting."
"What I found in the messages were alarming and disturbing," Wistocki wrote. "Khan discussed with (the student) how school shooters would get a higher body count by burning down a school, rather than shooting students in it."
" 'Why don't people ever burn down schools?' " Khan allegedly wrote to the student. "Seems more fun than shooting 'em up."
Wistocki said Khan on Dec. 23 also referenced Adam Lanza, who carried out the Newtown massacre before committing suicide. Khan allegedly created a Facebook page entitled, "Adam Lanza was a true American hero," Wistocki noted in the reports.
Khan further "described himself as 'a sadist with sociopathic tenancies (sic),' " one who declared "gun control involvement is a big problem with our government," Wistocki reported.
"If I were going to kill myself, it would be fabulous," Khan allegedly wrote to the North Central student in October. "I'd shoot up a police station ... I'd use a screwdriver to the spine. Paralyze them permanently."
Wistocki also noted the student told him Khan "posted something about murder and bloody bodies on the floor, but (she) could not remember what the posting was, specifically. Her grandmother observed it as well and called her attention to it."
Police on March 22 obtained a $250,000 warrant for Khan's arrest.
Law enforcement officials who went to Khan's apartment in Madison six days later learned he and his elderly mother had recently moved to Wisconsin from California. Khan admitted to a detective in Wisconsin "that he was the poster of the killing and gun messages" on the North Central Confessions page, records indicated.
The complex in which Khan was living "was situated directly next to a very large daycare center," records showed. "This was very dangerous, due to the ideas Khan had expressed of initiating a school shooting."
Wisconsin authorities found eight "air soft" or BB guns in Khan's home. The orange-colored "safety tips" had all been removed, which made the guns look like an authentic machine gun and other deadly weapons, according to the reports.
Khan posted bond after being taken into custody in Wisconsin and initially resisted being extradited to DuPage County. He is scheduled to appear Monday in court.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
