Two Mundelein High School students charged after social media post
Two Mundelein High School students were arrested Sunday on charges they created a social media post showing a photo of a hand holding a gun and warning "Mundelein ain't ready for this."
Juan Bello, 18, of the 800 block of Walnut in Mundelein, was charged with a class 4 felony, and a student who was not named because he is underage will be prosecuted in juvenile court, Mundelein police said Sunday evening. Both have been removed from school.
Both "indicated there was never any intent of harm meant toward anyone and that this was a matter of poor decision-making on their parts," according to police. The handgun that was shown in the photograph has been recovered and was found to be fake, police said.
Before the arrests, Mundelein High School already had announced extra precautions would be taken today on the campus.
"We are taking this very seriously, because we want to keep making sure we're doing everything we can to create that safe environment for our students," Mundelein High School District 120 Superintendent Kevin Myers said.
The high school district said only the main entrance will be open for students and visitors. Staff members can use their electronic keys to get in the west entrance. Police officers will be in the parking lots and at the entrance to the building before and during the school day.
The district wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend, "Following the Parkland, Florida, tragedy there is an upward trend of baseless threats across the country aimed at causing insecurity at our educational institutions. Unfortunately, Mundelein High School is experiencing this trend."
It continued, "Please be assured that we and the police will take every piece of information seriously to ensure a safe environment at Mundelein High School."
Last week, a former Streamwood High School student, a Round Lake Beach teen and an Aurora student all were charged with disorderly conduct for social media posts containing potential threats against schools.
Lake Park High School in Roselle dismissed students shortly after school began on Friday after a threat that was deemed "not credible" nevertheless caused "significant disruption to the school day."
Myers said a Mundelein student came forward to report the post by the two students. Parents also told authorities they had seen the message, Myers said.
"We immediately reached out to the Mundelein Police Department," he said.