Lombard man charged with threatening courthouse attack

A 32-year-old Lombard man was being held Monday in Denver County jail on a pair of felony charges resulting from threats he made to engage in a “Columbine-type” shooting spree at the DuPage County courthouse, authorities said.

Daniel P. McDade of the 2700 block of Highland Avenue was charged with threatening a public official and disorderly conduct and is awaiting extradition to DuPage, Sheriff John Zaruba said in a news release.

Zaruba said sheriff’s detectives obtained two warrants for McDade’s arrest and took him into custody with help from Denver police officers.

Authorities said they began their investigation after receiving a tip that McDade was threatening an April 4 attack on employees at the courthouse, which is located in Wheaton.

Detectives on April 2 were able to trace McDade to Denver, and police there took him into custody at a hotel-apartment complex, authorities said.

McDade was on bail for a driving under the influence of alcohol charge and had been ordered by the court to refrain from using drugs or alcohol or leaving the state.

McDade was notified on March 31 that he was to appear in DuPage court on April 4 for a drug test, which was part of the conditions of his bail. Shortly after receiving the notice, he became upset and proceeded to post several threating messages on Facebook, authorities said. In his multiple messages, McDade said he would shoot several people on April 4, including children, police and public officials at the courthouse.