Joliet police have arrested and authorities have filed felony charges against two teens in connection to a series of violent threats made against a school district over the weekend.
Those threats led to the decision to have students stay home for an e-learning day on Monday, with officials ultimately finding the threats to be “bogus,” according to police.
In a press release, Joliet police said that a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl were arrested on charges of felony disorderly conduct in connection with the threats, accused of transmitting a threat of destruction of school property or violence, death or bodily harm against persons at school.
The older teen is a student at Joliet West High School, which was one of the schools targeted by the threats.
The threats targeted numerous schools in Joliet and nearby Plainfield, and made their way around social media on Sunday.
Detectives identified one of the suspects and met with her at home on Sunday. No weapons were found amid a search, and she was released.
Monday, the same teen was brough to Joliet police by her mother and apparently admitted her involvement in creating the threats. She was then taken into custody.
At the same time, a 12-year-old girl was also arrested on charges related to the case, accused of helping to spread a threat against Dirksen Junior High in Joliet.
That threat was also deemed unfounded.
Joliet police say they are continuing to investigate additional “copycat” posts mimicking the original threats, and the case remains open.
The original threats circulated on social media, threatening “2 students with a weapon inside each school” and providing a list of several schools.
As a result, most schools in Joliet held e-learning days on Monday, but in-person learning is expected to resume Tuesday, with officials saying there will be additional police presence near schools in the area.