Parent unhappy with U-46 after student brings BB gun to school

Amid a parent's concern of not being notified quickly enough, school officials said Wednesday they are investigating the circumstances involving a middle school student bringing a BB gun to an Elgin school.

On Monday, an Abbott Middle School student invited two other students into the boys bathroom to show off the gun, and later threatened one of the students, warning him to keep quiet about it, Elgin Area School District U-46 officials said.

The two students told an administrator what had happened, though, and the administrator and school resource officer confronted the student who brought the gun and confiscated it, officials said.

"The student was immediately identified and removed from the classroom, and what was found was a BB gun on the student's person," said John Heiderscheidt, U-46 coordinator of safety and security.

The student could face suspension or expulsion for possessing a weapon and making threats.

"We take these situations extremely seriously," Heiderscheidt said. "They are investigated to the full maximum. We never did view this as a harmless prank."

The situation was reported immediately to Elgin police and the investigation is ongoing, he added.

Elgin police Cmdr. Glenn Theriault said appropriate charges will be brought forward against the boy and anyone else involved in bringing a gun to school.

Mike Holte, who says he is the father of one of the 12-year-olds who was threatened, is upset at how the situation was handled by school officials.

Though the boys reported what happened shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, Holte says he didn't learn about it until his son came home from school.

"They never called the parents to inform them of the situation or what was going on," Holte said.

The district informed all parents of what happened via email Monday afternoon, and sent a follow-up email with more details Tuesday.

Holte said the student who brought the gun to school made a gang reference and also offered the two boys some pills. He said when the boys reported it to the vice principal, they were asked to write down a statement of what had happened and then were sent back to their classroom.

"My son was never talked to the remainder of the day," Holte said. "They were sent back to class as if nothing happened, and then there was no follow up at all. I do not feel comfortable keeping my son in U-46 right now."

Holte said though the situation was dealt with quickly and properly by the vice principal, the school's principal had no idea what had happened when his wife spoke to her later in the day.

"As a head of the school, I think it's her job to know that," he said. "The district office wasn't informed of the situation until my wife called them."

Heiderscheidt said the school administration followed proper protocol.

He added students bringing weapons to school is not a common occurrence. He urged district parents to talk to their children about never bringing even a toy weapon to school, and encouraged students to report any such behavior immediately to an adult.