May 13, 2009 10:34 pm US/Central
Teen Charged In Lockport H.S. Chemical Bomb Case
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Lockport Township High School
CBS
An explosion, a bomb scare and a school turned upside down. It's been a crazy week at Lockport Township High School in the southwest suburbs. CBS 2's Anne State reports that a student has been arrested Wednesday.
Prosecutors say a 15-year old boy, a freshman, is now facing felony charges. They say he set off a bomb; then he set off his mouth, telling fellow students.
Case closed? Not exactly.
This week has been anything but normal at Lockport Township High School. Bomb-sniffing dogs roamed the hallways on
Tuesday after someone called in a bomb threat.
And on
Monday, a plastic soft drink bottle exploded inside a hallway at the central campus. The smoke sent more than a dozen students to the hospital.
Wednesday evening came word that a freshman boy was charged with setting off that bomb. Why did he do it?
"The reason why he did it, it was a prank," said Lockport Police Investigator William Sheehan. "There was no intent to harm anyone per him; it was just a bad choice."
Police say the boy detonated the device in a hallway on the second floor of the central campus. They believe he mixed two household chemicals together. They say he has confessed.
"Well, I think I can speak for the staff, it's a sense of relief," said Lockport Superintendent Garry Raymond. "But at the same time concern. We've got a disturbed young man, obviously is troubled and needs some special attention."
However, is this the same student who called in a bomb threat the very next day sending students home early? At this point, police don't think so. They say the investigation is still active.
"Until we exhaust all leads, all information that we get, I will consider the case open until we can justify that it is actually closed," said Lockport Police Chief Bill Kendziora.
Police say the boy was arrested at school. They say he's sorry for what he did. He's being charged as a juvenile. Besides the felony charges, the superintendent says he could be expelled for up to two years.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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