11 Year Old Among Others Charged With School Threats
Two Lake County juveniles are facing felony intimidation charges for allegedly making threats about school shootings this week.
On Sunday, September 15, 2024, a police officer with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was made aware of a 14-year-old girl from Gary who reportedly posted a threatening comment to a TikTok video. Upon investigation, the suspect told police she was viewing a video on TikTok and posted a comment about shooting at a school. The girl stated that she couldn’t remember what the exact statement was and that it did not mention a specific school or student. When questioned, relatives of the girl confirmed that she had told them about the comment.
The Lake County Police officer also learned FBI had been looking into the incident and found the account where the post was made. The comment was tracked to a phone at a Gary address. The account originally displaying the comment has since been banned by TikTok.
The 14-year-old was placed into the custody of the Lake County Juvenile Center and was charged with felony intimidation.
The next day, Monday, September 16th, 2024, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department police officer was dispatched to a school in Lowell for a report of a threat of a school shooting that had been made on a school bus at about 3:15 p.m.
School administration provided surveillance video from a school bus where a male juvenile can be heard saying “ABCD shoot up the school”. The bus driver can also be heard notifying the student who made the remark that he was on camera. The student can then be seen waving at the camera.
Lake County police officers later located the 11-year-old boy accused of making the comment. When officers asked him what he meant by his statement on the bus, he explained that he had said “ABCD Glock 19 shoot up the school. Act like a fool.” The boy stated that it was a joke and that he had made a rhyme. He said that he didn’t think what he said was serious. The suspect said he had recently watched a Tik Tok video about people making threats against schools.
The 11-year-old, of Hebron, also faces a felony intimidation charge; which has been filed with the Lake County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office.
“As sheriff of Lake County, I take all threats of violence very seriously. Anyone suspected of engaging in this illegal behavior, regardless of whether the threat is determined to be real, will face serious legal consequences.”
“These types of threats can cause widespread fear and may also divert critical public safety resources; posing a potentially grave danger to the community,” Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr said. “Please understand, these threats are not funny. They’re criminal and they will be treated as such regardless of the age of those responsible.”
