Wheaton sixth grader charged with making threat against Edison Middle School

A 12-year-old male student at Edison Middle School in Wheaton was charged Thursday with making threatening statements directed at the school.

The juvenile appeared at a detention hearing where he was released to the custody of his mother. The juvenile has been charged with one count of disorderly conduct--threat to a school. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 23, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

On May 24, the student, a sixth-grader, allegedly was speaking to a teacher and asked the teacher “has anyone blown up the school before?” The student then allegedly stated that he would be the first to do it.

The student the allegedly asked the teacher if police officers were at the school and began rocking his chair making a clicking noise on the ground and said “shots fired” every time the chair hit the ground. The teacher reported the incidents to authorities at the school who contacted Wheaton police, the release stated.

“School safety remains a top priority of my administration and we will continue to be proactive in identifying students who are in need of services in order to prevent acts of violence,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Students must know however that threats such as alleged in this case are no joking matter. Every threat involving a juvenile must be fully investigated by law enforcement and where appropriate, will turned be over to authorities in the juvenile justice system.”

“This is an excellent example of the partnership we have with CUSD200 in maintaining a safe school environment,” Wheaton Chief of Police William Murphy said in the release. “Early intervention and open communication are essential in cases like this to ensure the safety of our children, teachers and staff.”