An 18-year-old man was charged with disorderly conduct after officials said he sent a graphic Snapchat video to dozens of Wauconda High School students threatening to “show you what a school shooter is.”
Police found Karston H. Goodson at his parents’ home in Island Lake at 7 p.m. Tuesday and took him into custody, according to the Wauconda Police Department. No weapons were found at the house, and Goodson did not appear to have a weapon in the video, police said.
Goodson is charged with one count of disorderly conduct/threat to a school, a felony, according to police and Lake County prosecutors. His address was listed as being in Yates City, a town in west central Illinois.
Students alerted school administrators about the video Tuesday afternoon while class was in session. In it, Goodson — who was enrolled as a senior at the school but has been absent without permission for 20 straight days — gave a continuous rant threatening to shoot up the school, police said. The suspect used repeatedly vulgar language and indicated that he was angry that some students had made negative comments about another student Goodson knows, police said.
“He appeared to be out of control, swearing,” said Wauconda police Chief Dave Wermes. “It was him getting into the camera screaming.”
Forty students received the video during school hours, police said. The post was then deleted, but police were able to retrieve it, according to reports.
Police, school and Community Unit District 118 officials worked to ensure the safety of students and minimize disruption to the school day, police said.
Goodson appeared in Lake County bond court Wednesday morning in jail scrubs. Judge James Simonian set bail at $50,000, meaning Goodson would be required to post $5,000 bond to be released.
The charge can bring a sentence of one to three years in prison upon conviction.
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If Goodson does post bond, Simonian said, conditions of his release would include no drugs, alcohol, weapons or access to social media, and that a curfew would be set.
Because Goodson has had 20 days of consecutive unexcused absences, he is expected to be dropped from the school Thursday, Wermes said.
Goodson had been in Lake County to address an alcohol consumption by a minor citation when he was arrested at his parents’ house, according to Cynthia Vargas, spokeswoman for the Lake County state’s attorney’s office.
Goodson is scheduled for a bond review hearing Friday morning, and a public defender has been appointed for him.
In February, two juveniles were charged by police in connection with a bomb threat at Wauconda High School that forced the evacuation of students and staff to a nearby church using school buses.
Wermes said police and school officials want to send the message to the community that such threats will be taken seriously every time they arise.
“This will not be tolerated: If you’re doing it as a joke, you’re going to get arrested. If you’re doing it out of anger, you’re going to get arrested,” Wermes said.
To put community members at ease, Wermes ordered a heavy presence of police officers at the high school Wednesday, both outside and walking the halls, he said.
District 118 Superintendent Daniel J. Coles said counselors and social workers were available to students Wednesday, and students took advantage of the opportunity to discuss concerns and fears.
“We’ve got a high school of almost 1,400 kids, the kids want to come to school, they want to be safe, they want to be with their friends, they want to prepare for their futures, be in the activities they enjoy,” Coles said. “If people need support, you give it to them.”
Jim Newton is a reporter for the News-Sun.
Twitter @jimnewton5