A Mundelein High School student is facing a felony charge after posting a social media threat that contained hate speech and a bomb threat, officials said.
“We have been informed by the Mundelein Police that a threat was made on social media by an MHS student to bomb the school. The threat also included hate speech,” school officials said in an email to parents of Mundelein High School students.
The boy, whose identity is being withheld because he is a minor, was arrested at his home on Saturday. Mundelein Deputy Police Chief Don Hansen told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that the boy was charged with one count of threat to a school building/person, which is a felony.
Hansen said that the boy posted the threat on his personal Instagram page, which included hate speech towards people of color.
“Please be assured that the police and MHS administration will do everything necessary to keep all of our students and staff members safe at all times,” school officials said.
Police called the Instagram threat, “irresponsible.” The boy was released from police custody back to his parents.
This is the fourth incident at Mundelein High School which put the school in the news.
In January, a student was charged after bringing a BB gun to school and pulling it out in a bathroom, triggering a soft lockdown.
In February, a student was disciplined for wearing earrings that spelled out the n-word. The next day, a threat posted on social media and a photo of a shotgun shell in one of the school’s bathrooms sparked fear in the community.
The next day after that, two students were arrested for posting a photo of what appeared to be a gun with the caption, “Mundelein ain’t ready for this,” on social media.