Cook County prosecutors have not yet decided whether to bring charges against two Park Ridge boys who police accused of threatening to use a gun at Maine South High School during summer school in July.
The boys, ages 12 and 15, appeared in juvenile court with their attorneys and families in Skokie on Monday before Circuit Court of Cook County Judge Steven Bernstein.
Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Kelly Warnick-Brown said the office had not made a decision whether to file criminal charges against the adolescents. She requested the boys return for a court date on Aug. 21. The hearing lasted less than five minutes, and neither the boys nor their attorneys spoke during the proceedings.
The adolescents were arrested in connection with a social media post, which Park Ridge police said contained an image of the boys holding a pistol and threatening to use the gun at Maine South during summer school on July 10. Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen had said the boys did not specifically name Maine South in the threat, but an investigation determined that that was the school that was referenced in the message posted to Snapchat on the morning of July 10.
Three guns, including the weapon seen in the Snapchat post, were recovered from the Park Ridge homes of the 12-year-old boy, police said. Jogmen wrote in an email Monday afternoon that police had no updates to disclose with regard to an investigation into the owner of the firearms.
The boys were released from custody on July 11 after spending time in a Cook County juvenile detention facility.
Tandra Simonton, chief communications officer for the Cook County State’s Attorney, said the office is “still reviewing the case for possible criminal charges.” She declined to provide any further explanation as to why prosecutors had not yet decided whether to charge the juveniles.
According to police, the 15-year-old is a student at Maine South. Park Ridge-Niles District 64 officials confirmed in an email to parents sent out five days after the incident occurred that the 12-year-old allegedly involved is a student at the elementary and middle school district.
Students at Maine South and at District 64 schools will be back in school by the time the boys are slated to appear in court again. The new school year begins for District 207 students on Aug. 14 and on Aug. 17 for District 64 pupils. The 15- and 12-year-old boys are due in court in Skokie at 9 a.m. on Aug. 21.
When asked whether the 15-year-old allegedly involved in the threat would be allowed to return to school at the start of the new school year, Dave Beery, director of communications for Maine Township High School District 207, wrote in an email that the district is “simply not at liberty to discuss these details.” Confidentiality laws prevent the district from commenting on individual student disciplinary matters, he wrote.
“At the same time, our priority remains, as it always has been, providing a safe learning environment for our students,” Beery wrote.
When asked if the 12-year-old allegedly involved in the incident would be returning to a District 64 middle school, the district’s superintendent, Laurie Heinz, wrote in an email that state and federal laws prevent the disclosure of information about specific pupils. She wrote that the district is “monitoring closely the events. … We are working with the Park Ridge Police Department and legal counsel while following Board of Education policy regarding student behavior and disciplinary consequences.”
“After a full investigation, if discipline is warranted, it will be imposed in compliance with these stated policies, which are communicated to all in the Student-Parent Handbook and the policy manual on our website,” she wrote.
Aside from educating students, Heinz wrote that the safety and overall well-being of students, staff and the school community are the “top priority” for the district.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. Jennifer Johnson contributed.
