Wauconda High student arrested after Twitter threat
A Wauconda High School student was arrested Friday after writing a threatening Twitter post, authorities said.
The 17-year-old student wrote "Watch out I am coming back on Friday" and included an image of a handgun in the Tweet, Police Chief David Wermes said. He was charged as a juvenile with disorderly conduct.
Police and school officials considered the message an "implied threat," Wauconda Unit District 118 Superintedent Daniel Coles said in a statement on the district's website.
The teen's Twitter profile picture featured a clown, Wermes said. That led some officials to connect the post to the creepy clown phenomenon.
School districts and law enforcement agencies have been monitoring the phenomenon. It centers on people dressed as disturbing looking clowns, and some of them have been threatening.
Antioch police on Friday said they've received several complaints about people dressed as clowns or wearing clown masks in public. Most have been benign, police said.
Police urged anyone who sees someone dressed as a clown and is acting suspiciously to call 911.
Police also cautioned people considering dressing up as a clown to be part of the trend, saying they risk their safety because people are on "high alert."