7 girls charged after 'premeditated brawl' at Wheaton North

Seven girls from Wheaton North High School are facing mob action charges following a premeditated brawl Tuesday at the school, authorities said.

Three of the girls also are charged with unlawful use of a weapon and one is charged with aggravated battery of a teacher.

All seven appeared at a detention hearing Wednesday morning, where DuPage County Judge Anthony Coco ordered they each be fitted with a GPS monitoring device and then released them to the custody of their parents.

The girls are not being named because they are juveniles.

They all were in a hallway near the cafeteria around 7 a.m. Tuesday when the fight broke out, authorities said. One of the girls had a pocketknife, another had a sock filled with batteries and a third had a sock containing a can of green beans.

Teachers and administrators broke up the fight along with police officers from Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Carol Stream and DuPage sheriff's deputies.

"The alleged actions against the students in this incident will absolutely not be tolerated," DuPage State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "School safety continues to be a top priority of my administration and any incident that disrupts school safety or the ability of teachers to teach and students to learn will be met with serious consequences."

"With much appreciated help from the Glen Ellyn and Carol Stream police departments, as well as the DuPage County Sheriff's Office, we were able to get a tense situation under control and restore a feeling of safety and security that a school provides for students and teachers alike," Wheaton police Chief Bill Murphy said.

In notes sent to parents, Principal Matt Biscan said the building was placed in "secure and teach" mode, where students and staff remained in classrooms and continued normal activities while police and administrators investigated.

"This type of behavior does not represent the school culture that we are proud of at Wheaton North," Biscan wrote. "We will continue to work with all students to help guide them in their decision making. School, parents, and community can work together to make a positive impact on all our students."