A 14-year-old Evanston Township High School student has been referred to juvenile court after he allegedly posted a picture of himself with a gun and a caption stating “can’t wait 4 eths 2 blow up,” police said Tuesday.
On February 21, at approximately 12:50 p.m. Evanston police received a “text-a-tip” about an ETHS student posing with a gun and the threatening caption “can’t wait 4 eths 2 blow up,” in a social media post, police said in a release. It said an Evanston Police School Resource Officer investigated which led to the identity of the student. ETHS Safety Staff made contact with the student, a 14 year-old male resident of Evanston, and took him to a dean’s office where to meet with safety staff met with the SRO, the release said.
The SRO learned the handgun was not real, but instead was a fake prop gun from an ETHS classroom and was being used for an English lesson about “Romeo & Juliet,” the release said. It said the student was transported to the Evanston Police Department for further investigation and that the student did not “provide a statement of his intention behind the post.” The student was referred to juvenile court for disorderly conduct, said the release.
On Tuesday, the school posted on its website that the Evanston Police Department received an alert about the issue but said the gun was not real and was used as part of an English lesson.
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Evanston police have been in touch with the student’s family regarding disciplinary action according to the statement.
“ETHS is revisiting classroom practices about the use of props such as replicas of weapons,” the statement continued. “We continue to ask that every member of our school community practice Acknowledge, Care, Tell to keep each other safe, and we are here to provide mental health support as needed, starting with social workers in W121.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.