Former Glenbard East student charged with threatening female student

A former Glenbard East High School student has been charged with disorderly conduct and harassment through electronic communications after sending a threatening message to a current student, authorities said Friday.

Jaris McCullum, 18, of the 1000 block of South Route 53 in Lombard, is being held on $75,000 bail.

Authorities said Lombard police received information Monday that the female student received a message via Facebook Messenger from McCullum in which he threatened to show up at school to kill her boyfriend and harm her. The student alerted the dean of students and the school reported the threat to the Lombard police student resource officer.

The subsequent investigation led to McCullum, authorities said, and he was taken into custody Thursday.

In a written statement, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin thanked the female student for alerting authorities and urged "all students to follow her lead - if you see or hear something, say something."

In a letter to parents, principal Shahe Bagdasarian wrote that he appreciated the work of Lombard police and the state's attorney's office.

"Tragedies at schools nationwide have heightened everyone's concern for students' safety," he wrote. "I want to assure you that we always take any type of threat seriously and have the full cooperation of local law enforcement."

Said Lombard Police Chief Roy Newton: "Our educational facilities should be a place of learning and safety. It is unfortunate that some think they can disrupt fellow students' learning opportunity with threats to their safety while in school."

McCullum's next court appearance is scheduled for May 13 in front of Judge John Kinsella.