Teens Arrested For School Bomb Threats Made On Twitter
WILL COUNTY (CBS) -- Two teenagers who used Twitter to threaten to blow up their southwest suburban high schools in unrelated incidents this week have been charged with making bomb threats, police said.
The threats involved Joliet West and Peotone high schools, police said.
A Joliet West High School freshman who threatened to blow up the school told police she did so only to scare kids who were bullying her brother.
The 14-year-old girl was arrested at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the school at 401 N. Larkin Ave. on a felony charge of making a bomb threat, police said.
The principal contacted the school detective earlier that morning after receiving phone calls from several concerned parents, Joliet Police Cmdr. Al Roechner said.
The threat, "I will bomb West High School," was posted Friday afternoon on a student's Twitter account, Roechner said. Detectives identified the student and questioned her.
"She said her older brother was being bullied, and her intention was to scare those boys into leaving him alone. She had no plans to set a bomb," Roechner said.
The girl was taken to the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center. Classes were not interrupted.
A Monee teen was charged with making a bomb threat in the incident involving Peotone High School.
About 7 p.m. Monday, 17-year-old Kyle J. Koran posted a message on Twitter, according to Peotone Police Chief Bill Mort.
"It read, 'Tomorrow I'm planning on bombing Peotone High School. If you're one of the 15 people I like don't go to school,' " Mort said.
The teen reportedly deleted the Tweet but not before it was seen by police officers, Mort said. Police went to the his house and questioned him.
"He thought he was being funny (by) making a joke, but we took it seriously," Mort said.
Peotone police alerted school staff and had extra officers on campus Tuesday morning, but Mort said there are no indications the teen was capable of bombing the school.
Mort said Koran is a former Peotone High student who was being home schooled his senior year.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
