12-year-old admits to sending threat to ‘shoot up’ Oregon High School

OREGON – A 12-year-old Oregon boy admitted Tuesday to posting a threatening message on social media in September to “shoot up” Oregon High School.

The boy was adjudicated for the offense of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to 12 months of court supervision with several conditions, including staying away from Oregon School District 220 property.

He was charged in September with making a terrorist threat and disorderly conduct, both felonies, following his post on social media that said, “I am going to shoot up Oregon High School on Sept. 20, 2024, at 12:30 p.m.”

On Tuesday, he admitted to the lesser charge, disorderly conduct – a Class 4 felony – and through a negotiated plea agreement, the charge of making a terrorist threat was dismissed.

“These are legal terms, and you are 12,” Judge John “Ben” Roe told the boy, who was represented in court by Ashley Davis of Rockford. “I just want to make sure you understand everything.”

“Yes, your honor,” the boy replied as his mother sat behind him in the public section of the courtroom.

Disorderly conduct is the “unlawful interruption of the peace, quiet or order of a community, including offenses called disturbing the peace, vagrancy, loitering, unlawful assembly and riot.”

Davis told Roe that a resolution had been reached with Assistant State’s Attorney Richard Russo, who represented the state of Illinois.

Davis said she had discussed the sentence with the boy and his mother before Tuesday’s court session began.

Russo concurred and asked Roe to include the restriction that the boy can’t enter property of the Oregon school district. Russo said it is possible that because of the boy’s age, that condition could be revisited in the future if all of the other terms of his supervision are adhered to.

Roe agreed and added the condition barring the boy from school property.

The boy was charged after an FBI agent alerted Oregon Police Chief Matt Kalnins of the Sept. 18 threat.

According to court records, Kalnins met with the boy and his mother the next day, Sept. 19, and the boy admitted to creating a false Facebook account using the name of a classmate and then making the threatening post from that site using a school-issued Chromebook.

FBI agents determined that the IP address for the post came from the boy’s home and not the classmate’s, who told police he only knew the boy through playing the video game “Fortnite.”

Police officers quickly determined that the 12-year-old did not have access to weapons.

Kalnins and District 220 Superintendent P.J. Caposey issued a joint news release Sept. 19 noting that the agencies had concluded the threat was not credible. Caposey sent a message alerting parents of the situation between 8:45 and 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, after the school’s homecoming parade and bonfire.

According to court records, the boy told police that he made the post because he was “just messing around” and wrote it because he wanted to get out of school and had not been bullied. He said it was a “dumb mistake” and wrote, in a letter of apology, that he would never intentionally hurt anyone and did not realize the consequences of his actions.

“He said he never intended to hurt anyone,” Russo told Roe on Tuesday.

Under the plea agreement, the boy must follow all conditions set by the Ogle County Probation Department, including any curfews, assessments and counseling if deemed necessary. Other common conditions for supervision sentences include no consumption of alcohol or medications unless prescribed by a medical doctor.

The boy also must continue to attend school and provide proof of attendance to the court. The boy has been a student at the Chana Education Center since the charges were filed.

“You can’t have any guns ... including BB guns, and you are subject to any random urinalysis ordered by probation,” Roe told the boy. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, your honor,” the boy replied.

He also was ordered to complete 30 hours of public service work.

Tuesday was the boy’s third court appearance since the charges were filed.

The juvenile justice system for people ages 10 to 17 is different from the criminal system for adults. Offenses are considered delinquent acts rather than crimes, and cases are “adjudicated delinquent” rather than “found guilty.” Adjudication is the process wherein a judge determines whether a juvenile committed an offense.

Names of juveniles charged with offenses are not released to the public.

The charges against the boy were filed after several incidents across the U.S. that prompted the FBI to post “Think Before You Post: Hoax Threats are Serious Federal Crimes” on its website.

It reads, in part: “In recent months, the FBI and law enforcement around the country have investigated a number of hoax threats of targeted violence against schools and other public places. These threats – often issued via text message or posted on social media – are taken seriously. Hoax threats are not a joke, and they can have devastating consequences, both for the public and for the perpetrators.”

Issuing a threat even over social media, via text message or through email is a federal crime under threatening interstate communications. Those who post or send threats can receive up to five years in federal prison, or they can face state or local charges, according to the FBI.

The boy’s next court date is 1:30 p.m. Dec. 9, 2024, for an expungement hearing, where defense attorneys and prosecutors present evidence and arguments to support their positions on whether to expunge a record.