Grad Accused Of Threat To Shoot Elk Grove Students During Walkout

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL — An Elk Grove High School grad is accused of threatening to shoot students at his alma mater during Wednesday's national school walkout. Jose A. Lopez, 19, of the 400 block of Perrie Drive in Elk Grove Village, was charged with felony disorderly conduct Thursday stemming from a threat he allegedly made on social media, according to the Daily Herald.

Elk Grove Village police received a report at around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 14 — nearly three hours after the walkout at the high school was planned — that a threat against students had been shared on social media, the report stated. Police and school officials were unsure when the threat had originally been posted online, but an increased police presence was at the school to ensure safety, according to Journal & Topics Media Group.

Township High School District 214 officials estimated that around 400 Elk Grove students walked out of classes at around 10 a.m. Wednesday and gathered at the school's athletic field as part of a national demonstration in honor of the month-anniversary of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, the report stated. Like other planned walkouts Wednesday, the Elk Grove event ran for 17 minutes, each minute in memory of one of the victims.

RELATED: Students Across Chicagoland Walk Out To Protest Gun Violence

While police investigated the threat, the school was placed in a 20-minute soft lockdown just after 3 p.m., the report stated. The lockdown briefly delayed the dismissal of school, but it was lifted once Lopez was taken into custody at around 3:30 p.m., the report added.

Police arrested Lopez at the entrance of the Oasis Mobile Home Park in Elk Grove Township. He was unarmed, and officers apprehended him without incident, according to the Herald.

Investigators credited information from Elk Grove students and faculty with helping to identify and locate Lopez.

Because the alleged threat was against a school, a Class 4 felony charge was approved by Cook County prosecutors, the report stated. Lopez is scheduled to appear in court later Thursday afternoon.

More via the Daily Herald and Journal & Topics Media Group

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