A boy of only 13 years old was arrested for making terrorist threats after an incident at a school in Kenosha, Wisconsin. According to ABC30, the teenager tried to enter through multiple doors at Roosevelt Elementary School, until he finally managed to enter through one door, after being mistaken for a student.
“The suspect attempted to enter through numerous doors and exterior entrances before reaching our secured entrance,” said Kenosha Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Weiss.
“We can confirm that we received at least one video showing the suspect holding what we believe to be a firearm. We also have information that the suspect carried out multiple Internet searches related to school shootings before the incident“Kenosha police reported.
Thanks to the videos and several clues received about the identity and location of the young man, it was possible to refine the investigation and arrest the 13-year-old student.
“After verifying the location of the suspect, officers were able to successfully convince him to surrender,” said Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton.
According to WISN, witnesses stated that The arrest occurred a few blocks from the schoolin the 6700 block of 30th Avenue, around 2:00 pm The 13-year-old teenager was carrying a backpack and a black duffel bag.
The superintendent of the Kenosha Unified School District thanked school authorities for their prompt response: “I want to recognize our staff who acted quickly and contacted law enforcement so they could do their part to apprehend the suspect.
They may not have known at the exact moment what was happening, but Their actions were heroic and they avoided the unimaginable“.
During the execution of the search warrant at the minor’s home, Several replicas of compressed air pistols and an imitation rifle were foundbut no real weapon. The minor’s mother told detectives that the young man does not have access to weapons.
The young man told the detectives who questioned him that he went to school to sell candy, while he told a social worker that he wanted to scare the students, details ABC30.
These were critical moments experienced by the parents, many of whom had gathered outside, desperate to reach their children, when “suddenly a SWAT truck appeared,” according to Jabbar, a witness to the young man’s arrest.
WISN quoted the testimonies of some mothers of students at Roosevelt: “I just want to get my children out of there and I don’t know what to do. I know I can’t leave them out of school, but I want them to be safe,” said one of the interviewees.
Katie Crawford expressed: “You care about your children. “You think school is a safe place, and I think Roosevelt did a great job keeping us as informed as he could and making sure the kids didn’t know the extent of what was going on and that they were safe.”
For his part, Patton expressed concern: “This is something that people have already been told about their growing intentions. We know that There were searches on the Internet and all the warning signs we were looking for were there. and we were waiting for someone to report. They are going so far as to say that we were on the verge of avoiding a tragedy today, and we are going to encourage everyone again when they see something, to say something, to help us. Have those conversations with your children. We shouldn’t have seen this video today. “We should have been informed about this sooner.”
Other schools such as Pleasant Prairie were placed on lockdown to ensure the safety of students and staff.
Police also responded to Gateway Technical College following a report of an active shooter, responding with several tactical units. The call turned out to be not credible, WISN reported.
The police showed great concern about what happened and urged parents to “talk to their children and encourage them to share the videos and comments made by their peers. Parents and/or children are asked to report that information immediately to authorities. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can provide information to Kenosha Crime Stoppers.”
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