Boy, 14, Had Loaded Semi-Automatic Gun During Naperville 'Teen Takeover': Cops

NAPERVILLE, IL — A 14-year-old boy is charged with felony unlawful possession of a weapon after police and the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office said he had a loaded semi-automatic handgun during a "teen takeover" Saturday night in downtown Naperville.

At around 7:30 p.m. near Washington Street and Jefferson Avenue, a Naperville officer patrolling downtown during the "teen takeover" saw the teen "displaying suspicious behavior," officials said in a joint news release. After making contact with the boy, the officer recovered the loaded 9mm handgun in the teen's waistband during a safety pat down, officials said.

"The allegation that a fourteen-year-old boy was in possession of a loaded, semi-automatic handgun during an extremely crowded event in downtown Naperville is extremely disturbing," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "Once again, the Naperville Police Department’s vigilant policing and heads up work led to the removal of an allegedly illegally possessed handgun from our streets and possibly prevented a future tragedy."

At a detention hearing on Monday, Judge Chantelle Porter ordered the teen be released on home detention with electronic monitoring. His next court date is June 27.

"This was a disturbing discovery by our officers, and I could not be more grateful to them for their vigilance and professionalism, which led to this arrest and potentially prevented a tragedy," Police Chief Jason Arres said in the release. "Residents and visitors to Naperville should expect to continue seeing a large police presence in our downtown, at special events, and anywhere large groups are congregating. We take our responsibility to keep this community safe very seriously and will have zero tolerance for criminal, disruptive, or unsafe behavior that puts others at risk. I thank State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and his team for filing the appropriate charges in this case and for their continued support of law enforcement."