Two students in custody after Wauconda High School bomb threat

Two juvenile students were charged Thursday night after authorities say they scrawled a bomb threat on a bathroom wall at Wauconda High School, forcing a full evacuation of the school and cancellation of classes and school events for the day.

Wauconda police Officer Heather Cognac said authorities were notified of the threat about 12:40 p.m. Thursday. The threat in the washroom claimed a 1:30 p.m. detonation time for the bombs, she said, which led to the evacuation of the students and employees.

No bombs or anything suspicious were found after canine teams specializing in explosives detection from Great Lakes Naval Station and the Lake County sheriff's office helped Wauconda authorities search the school, she said.

After consulting with school officials and interviewing several students, police determined one student made a written threat, while another student made a verbal threat.

"I think a lot of times kids don't think through what the possible repercussions will be of their actions," she said. "We just want to remind students that anything that is written, posted, disseminated, we take very seriously."

One student was charged with disorderly conduct and released to a parent Thursday evening. The other student was charged with felony disorderly conduct and taken to the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center.

Authorities said the school was placed in a "precautionary hard lockdown" before the evacuation. The cancellation of classes and events came later in the day.

Wauconda Unit District 118 officials had everyone placed on buses and taken to The Chapel nondenominational church just outside Grayslake, where they were released to their parents. Cognac said The Chapel already was in place as an evacuation site under District 118 protocol.

Wauconda High School has about 1,400 students, according to the most recent Illinois State Board of Education Report card.