13-year-old suspect charged after threat at Kenosha elementary school, police say

Liz Nagy Image
Friday, November 8, 2024 4:34PM
Possible school shooting thwarted at elementary school: Kenosha police
Possible school shooting thwarted at elementary school: Kenosha policeKenosha police say they thwarted a possible elementary school shooting Thursday when a 13-year-old went to his former elementary school.

KENOSHA, Wisconsin -- A 13-year-old has been charged with making terroristic threats after an incident at a school in Kenosha, Wisconsin Thursday.

The video in this story is from a previous report

Police said the teenage suspect tried to get in through multiple doors at Roosevelt Elementary School and was ultimately mistaken for a student and buzzed in.

Kenosha police said the teen, a Kenosha United School District student, was arrested at his home Thursday afternoon.

A search warrant was conducted of his home, which turned up several air soft replica handguns and a replica rifle, not no real guns, police said. The suspects mother told detectives that the suspect does not have access to guns.

The suspect told detectives he went to the school to sell candy, but later told a social worker he wanted to scare students, police said.

The teen was charged with one count of terroristic threats and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Incident scares neighbors, parents

Neighbors near Roosevelt Elementary said they heard sirens screaming down the block Thursday morning.

"All of a sudden a SWAT truck pulled up," said Jabbar, witness to the arrest.

By then parents had already gathered outside, desperate to get to their children inside.

Police said inside they'd stopped a 13-year-old former student with a backpack and a black duffel bag.

Police said his online history is also alarming. By mid-afternoon, police had found a suspect they said never should have made it so close to young children.

"We know there was internet searches, and all the red flags that we would look for and expect someone to report were there," Patton said. "We narrowly missed a tragedy today."

Police said those internet searches the suspect allegedly did were on school shootings. They also say the teen shared threatening videos and comments for weeks leading up to today's incident.

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