Two charged after firecracker set off at Harvard High School

Two Harvard boys were charged with aggravated arson after a large firecracker was detonated in a Harvard High School bathroom Tuesday, leading to the school’s evacuation and causing “substantial damage” in the bathroom, the Harvard Police Department said.

A student “flushed a firework down the toilet (Tuesday) at the high school,” Assistant Principal Jason Cummins told parents in an email that day.

The police officer assigned to the school reported a loud noise and smoke in the area of the cafeteria at 11:21 a.m. Tuesday, prompting a “large response from the Harvard Police Department and the Harvard Fire Protection District,” according to a news release.

A lunch period was ongoing at the time, Harvard Police Chief Tyson Bauman said. A school resource officer heard the noise, which sounded like “kitchen staff had dropped a large metal tray,” Bauman said.

The school was evacuated of all students and staff and the school was searched for other devices before being deemed safe by first responders. No students or staff were injured.

A preliminary investigation determined that a small group of students entered the boy’s bathroom on the main level of the school and detonated a large firecracker, according to the release.

Following the investigation and after reviewing the case with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, a 16-year-old Harvard boy and a 14-year-old Harvard boy were arrested about 3 p.m. and each charged with aggravated arson, arson, criminal damage to government property, mob action and reckless conduct, according to the release.

The boys were petitioned to McHenry County Court Services and subsequently taken to the Kane County Juvenile Detention Center.

In the email, Cummins thanked the Harvard police and fire departments for their help and noted, “the safety of both our students and staff are of the utmost importance.”

This incident remains under investigation.