Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Was a terrible tragedy averted in Darien?

Posted in:

Illinois

A Hinsdale South High School student who allegedly threatened to “shoot up” the Darien school has been charged with several crimes after police found firearms, explosives and a Nazi uniform in his residence, DuPage County prosecutors said Wednesday at a juvenile detention hearing.

Prosecutors said the youth, 16, had promised a “Southocaust” and on Monday had made a specific threat against a fellow student on social media. That brought police to his house, where they found the guns and explosives in his bedroom, prosecutors said.

The youth has been charged with eight felonies and was ordered to be held in a juvenile facility by Judge Michael Wolfe.

* ABC 7…

How the teenager acquired the cache of weapons is still under investigation.

“We were very disturbed. It’s very shocking. We have great kids. We have great families. This is a great place to live, a great place to send your kids to school,” said Bruce Law, Superintendent of Hinsdale School District 86.

Despite the discovery of the Nazi uniform, police said there’s no indication of a racial motive or an indication of any accomplice. Police said the suspect’s parents were not aware of the weapons cache.

Police also said they searched the student’s locker and found no other weapons or devices.

* Daily Herald…

Nuckolls said police found a flare gun that had been converted to a working gun, as well as a shotgun, a sawed-off rifle, more than 150 rounds of ammunition, knives, ski masks and brass knuckles. His bedroom also contained Nazi posters and flags, a World War II German soldier’s uniform, a Soviet flag and paper targets.

Police said they found an incendiary device in the boy’s closet that contained black powder, razor blades and ball bearings. In addition, Nuckols said the boy had PVC pipe and other materials commonly used in building pipe bombs. […]

The teen’s attorney said the boy’s mother was unaware of her son’s threats and of the materials found in his room. The mother asked Judge Michael Wolfe to release the teen to her with an electronic monitoring device.

“In the interest of the protection of others, in light that the family had no idea what was going on under their own roof, the minor will be detained,” Wolfe said.

Ugh.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 9:53 am

Comments

Awful. Yes, a tragedy was averted. Good work by law enforcement.

-The mother asked Judge Michael Wolfe to release the teen to her with an electronic monitoring device.-

No freaking way, lady.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 9:59 am
Beyond the discovery of a Nazi uniform, no racial motive?! Glad they caught him before it was too late.

Comment by GetOverIt Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:00 am
The kid who reported what he saw to police deserves high praise. Young people often don’t understand the gravity of certain things and would rather do nothing that risk alienating themselves. Kudos to the young person who informed the authorizes and very well may have prevented a pretty horrible thing.

Comment by AlfondoGonz Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:10 am
Wow, okay….I have to say on the surface that’s a huge parenting fail. Hello parents? A Nazi uniform? Guns, ammo, pipe bomb materials? And I felt bad for not noticing candy wrappers in my freshmans’ bed for 2 weeks. ( In my defense, she had brought me her sheets for washing that previous weekend. It wasn’t till I went to turn off her light that I discovered the wrappers)

Thank God it seems that the detection systems in place worked.

This could have been a tragedy! Those parents should also be thankful because I can think of a couple of cases where the young offender killed his parents first then killed others.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:12 am
Glad to see the criminal justice system worked for once, even if only for a short time. Good job officers, prosecutors, and judge. I hope the kids gets some help so he’s not released with the same issues later.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:12 am
Aw, can we please not blame the mom until we learn more about this?

It never occurred to me to search my children’s rooms for explosives…

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:24 am
=The teen’s attorney said the boy’s mother was unaware of her son’s threats and of the materials found in his room. The mother asked Judge Michael Wolfe to release the teen to her with an electronic monitoring device.=

This is a real part of the problem that we face today. Non-parenting parents.

I have two teenagers and they know that their rooms (and electronics) are not off limits to us.

We do not have them under east German Stazi type surveillance, but we do check now and then.

And it does create conflict but I would rather have them mad at me for a few days versus allowing them to hurt themselves or others.

Gotta be involved folks.

Good on everyone involved in preventing this potential tragedy.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:29 am
When my teens reached teen-hood, it was my
position that they should clean their own rooms.

Are parents now expected to routinely search their kids’ rooms as a component of modern parenting.

Comment by Cassandra Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:36 am
-Are parents now expected to routinely search their kids’ rooms as a component of modern parenting.-

Well, since parents can be held responsible for what their kids do, sadly, the answer is yes.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:41 am
If your son has paper range targets and Nazi and Soviet posters and flags hanging on his wall, it might be time for a little parental chin-wag with him as to what his interests are these days.

Probably a good idea to check the sock drawer and under the bed, too.

For crying out loud, a kid doesn’t accumulate all that propaganda and an armory overnight. A few missed signs, perhaps, on the home front?

Just another example of the Democratic welfare state producing ferals. In Darien.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:42 am
My parents may not have checked my room much as a teenager, but they sure as hell watched my finances like a hawk.

I’m not entirely sure how you assemble that arsenal without a significant expenditure of money (especially for a high schooler). Maybe check the bank account once in awhile?

Comment by Graduated College Student Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:43 am
I mean, clearly putting this kid on home supervision would have been the wrong move. But gosh - do we really expect parents to go through every corner of every closet and search every box to make sure that the kid isn’t doing something unthinkable?

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:47 am
However, if the Nazi posters and flags were on display, I withdraw all previous comments partially excusing the parents.

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:48 am
Cassandra, there’s a wee bit of difference between expecting children to clean their rooms and not noticing — or not caring– when swasticas and range targets start appearing on the walls.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:51 am
JS Mill - Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:29 am:

=The teen’s attorney said the boy’s mother was unaware of her son’s threats and of the materials found in his room. The mother asked Judge Michael Wolfe to release the teen to her with an electronic monitoring device.=

This is a real part of the problem that we face today. Non-parenting parents.

I have two teenagers and they know that their rooms (and electronics) are not off limits to us.

Well stated!

Comment by Federalist Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:52 am
=Are parents now expected to routinely search their kids’ rooms as a component of modern parenting.=

It always has been.

Parents should be aware of what is going on. Taking a peek now and then is a reasonable thing to do. We aren’t talking polygraph, drone surveillance, or prison style room toss.

But you need to know what is happening. Not a new concept at all.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 10:54 am
How was the parent unaware of her son’s collection of Nazi paraphernalia? Did she live in a separate residence?

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:04 am
Being a parent is tough. Being a parent is 2016 is difficult. Being a parent and worrying about stuff like this is a slog.

Comment by Team Sleep Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:09 am
Really? Most kids his age have parents that understand the swastikas are in all the boy’s rooms. And that uniform, well it’s for Halloween your honor /s

Comment by Jim beam Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:15 am
–Are parents now expected to routinely search their kids rooms as a component of modern parenting.–

Routinely, no. But it might be a good idea when you spot the Nazi posters and shooting targets on the walls.

Is it a “component of modern parenting” to ignore obvious signs that your kid is, at the least, vey confused and troubled? You think there may have been other signs, as he accumulated all these room decorations and an armory over time?

For crying out loud, the cops and everyone on social media picked up on it. The parents can claim cluelessness and get a pass? That’s absurd.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:15 am
I will be interested in learning how he acquired that stuff. Some of it is not cheap.

We had a Wehrmacht uniform hanging in a closet when I was a kid. One of my Dad’s souvenirs. I remember thinking the owner had been one short corporal.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:32 am
I can identify a bit with S-mom here. The Nazi symbols and other nutty stuff is a sure sign of a problem, if they were visible. There are a lot of things that kids find a way to hide. Keying on their behavior is probably the best indicator. I remember sitting in a courtroom once watching heart broken parents trying to reconcile the acts of their own children. None of them looked neglectful. In two hours of this I realized that judgement might better be replaced by some empathy.

When I got home, I did turn the bedrooms upside down. Thankfully, I found nothing serious, but I was convinced that such turn downs should be more regular. I’m relieved they’re all grown.

Good parenting is an art and a science..and hard.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:42 am
Parents not noticing a kids room has become a Hitler shrine? Or the assembly of an arsenal? Tells us a lot about the problem that cropped up.

Comment by titan Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:45 am
Think about this the next time some politico goes off on police. Remember the weeks after 9/11/01 when these same politicians were falling over each other to get photo ops with first responders? Law enforcement is under siege folks and it us citizens paying the price with increasing violent crime

Comment by Sue Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:45 am
“His bedroom also contained Nazi posters and flags, a World War II German soldier’s uniform, a Soviet flag and paper targets.”

For any parent, this would have set off numerous alarm bells. Unless, of course, mom and the grandparents are supportive of that type of thing.

Comment by Dance Band on the Titanic Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:58 am
Pardon, 11:15 was me.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 11:58 am
I am appalled that the parents had no idea their son had a weapons cache in his bedroom, along with Nazi posters on the wall. It didn’t occur to them to start a conversation about his bedroom décor? Where did the money come from to buy weapons and ammunition? On top of that, thinking that he ought to be released into their custody with an ankle bracelet?

They might want to consider that with a number of school shootings, the shooting started with taking out mom and dad.

Comment by Aldyth Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 12:14 pm
But we don’t know that the parents didn’t know he was disturbed, if he was. We don’t now that he wasn’t in treatment. We do know that the police didn’t think the parents knew about the items in the room.

I say, lay off the parents until more info is available.

Comment by Cassandra Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 12:15 pm
-We do know that the police didn’t think the parents knew about the items in the room.-

Well all that does is move it from the realm of intentional culpability to gross negligence.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 12:28 pm
– Law enforcement is under siege folks–

I’m kind of seeing it as Law enforcement is under scrutiny with the goal of accountability. I think that is a worthy and healthy endeavor for any democracy.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 12:47 pm
==–Are parents now expected to routinely search their kids rooms as a component of modern parenting.–==

Routine search. Heh. They have to be random searches to establish there is absolutely no chance they can hide anything.

Comment by Touré's Latte Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 12:48 pm
“Are parents now expected to routinely search their kids’ rooms as a component of modern parenting.”

I am 52 years old. When I was growing up I understood my parents could search my room if they thought it necessary. In fact one time, they found loose tobacco and thought it was pot. I think they knew it was tobacco but were just trying to get me to admit to more.

Comment by Steve Polite Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 1:05 pm
I didn’t know that my parents secretly checked my room until I was out of the house and they teased me about how bad my hiding places were.

I’m fairly certain that today’s parents have to be half ninja, half sage, and half psychic–much rarer than your average man-bear-pig! So good luck with that!

Comment by Chicago_Downstater Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 1:10 pm
“Just another example of the Democratic welfare state producing ferals. In Darien.”

I presume this is missing a tag…

Comment by Northsider Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 2:18 pm
Let’s try again: I presume this is missing a /snark tag…

Comment by Northsider Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 2:19 pm
I appreciate all the parents thinking a random or routine search is good parenting, I agree but dont you remember being a kid and having great hiding places. Anybody have a child with baseball card box sets? Do you search through each one? My parents did not.

Obviously this kid had quite a stash, but at this point in time we dont know anything about it other than the inventory. If the posters were on the wall they are bad parents. If his arsenal of weapons have been accumulated over a long period of time they suck. But what if he acquired the ammo and weapons yesterday. I think thats probably unlikely but what do I know.

Comment by Lil Squeezy Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 2:21 pm
I had attic access from my bedroom closet. I bet my parents havent been up there the in the last 25 years, but I was a few times.

It seems likely that these parents should have seen something, but it is certainly possible to conceal dangerous behavior and even build trust at the same time.

Comment by Lil Squeezy Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 2:35 pm
“How the teenager acquired the cache of weapons is still under investigation.”

Step One: Live in the United States.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 2:39 pm
“Anybody have a child with baseball card box sets? Do you search through each one? My parents did not”

How’d you know where I kept my shotgun? /s

Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 2:45 pm
What terrorist organization was grooming this youth? How did he get radicalized, online or in person? How did he get his weapons and explosives? Did he attend a religious institution or go to Sunday school? Are we investigating them? Why didn’t his co-religionists turn him in?
/snark

For real: Three fellow school kids all raised their hands in warning. Much praise to them, their parents, and their teachers.

Comment by walker Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 3:39 pm
=== But what if he acquired the ammo and weapons yesterday. ===

“Umm, why does the bank statement show a withdrawal of a few hundred dollars/that we spent that much at a gun and ammo store?”

Comment by Graduated College Student Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 3:54 pm
Actually, Walker, I think those are good questions. I would not be at all surprised if alt.right groups were grooming kids online.

And Lil Squeezy, the attic access thing immediately crossed my mind.

Here’s the thing — maybe the parents or grandparents are Nazi sympathizers. But if they are not — geez, which one of us looks at a beloved child and thinks, “You know, the light of my life and joy of my existence could in fact be a nascent mass murderer.”

We don’t know whether the kid was being dragged to a shrink twice a week. We don’t know if his mom moved back in with her folks because she just found out that dad had been sexually abusing the kid for years. We don’t know if Grandpa has been slipping the kid a hundred bucks here and there because he’s trying to make up for a dad who hasn’t been in the picture for 15 years.

We just don’t know. So let’s focus on the parents who apparently did the right thing in raising kids who were brave and savvy enough to speak out when they saw something that clearly wasn’t right. (Although you can’t necessarily credit the parents for that, either….)

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 4:03 pm
As long as the kid lives under your roof, you have a right to know what is going on in that room. You might not remain your kids BFF, but that’s parenting. As long as my kid lives in my house, I will know what is in his bedroom, because I will be in there every so often talking to him. It is understood it is part of MY house even if it is “his” room. I find it hard to believe this is even being questioned. As was said early, it’s not a prison toss or hidden cameras in a room, but a little periodic observation would have done wonders in this situation. Of course, the parent has to be observant enough to notice oddities or things that should set off alarms. Still, not that hard.

Comment by LessAnon? Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 4:04 pm
Ok, maybe he could hide the weapons but if either one of my kids had put up Nazi posters there would have been some serious conversation fast. Come on people. There are no excuses for that.

Comment by Denisquared Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 4:18 pm
The media should make a big deal out of this by telling the people they should all give the police a big congrats for catching & stopping this tragedy before it happened. We need more proactive news articles like this please!

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 4:34 pm