Prankster or terrorist? Teen has court date in Lockport H.S. explosion
Bob Roberts Reporting
WBBM Newsradio 780
(WBBM/STNG) - Parents and students alike were relieved to hear that a 15-year-old Lockport Central High School freshman has confessed to setting off a chemical bomb in on the second floor of the school Monday morning.
The boy who was arrested told police what he did was a prank and not meant to hurt anyone.
Yesterday, Will County officials charged the 15-year-old boy in connection with the incident, which sent several people to local hospitals.
The boy appears in Will County juvenile court today (Thursday).
The boy is cited as a juvenile with unlawful possession of a weapon, reckless conduct and unlawful possession of an explosive device.
While some give the administration and staff of Lockport High School east and central campuses high marks, others say things could have been done differently.
"I'm glad they got the person and I hope they prosecute him to the fullest," said parent Tina Hack.
Lockport East senior Katlyn Nowicki agreed.
"I hope they charge this kid with whatever they can, because it's essentially a form of terrorism in the school," Nowicki said.
But the two disagreed on the response. Hack said she thought that administrators, staff and first responders did "a good job." Nowicki said she found information to be lacking, and the evacuation far too slow.
"We heard about it through certain teachers," she said. "they never told us anything about what's going on. They wouldn't tell us about any problems they were having ... then holding us in school until after they already cleared the buildings for explosives the other day was ridiculous."
Administrators and police said they wanted to make absolutely sure that the path going out was safe before allowing students to leave.
Sophomore J.L. Griffin said he believed the administration's handling of the bomb Monday and phone threat Tuesday went "really well," and said, "Once I figured out what was going on and we were told, I was really confident that the administration knew what they were doing. I knew they weren't going to let us get hurt."
He said he "felt completely safe" as events unfolded.
But he said the heightened security has one obvious chink.
"We're not allowed to carry backpacks around the school," he said. "However, our backpacks are not checked at the door."
Heightened security will remain in effect through the end of the school term.
Contents of this site are Copyright 2009 by WBBM. The STNGwire contributed to this report.
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