A 14-year-old Illinois teen has been charged with calling in a bomb threat to the Bellefontaine High School and two other schools in September.
Clarence Perron of Highland Park, Ill., is believed to have made the threats after an online conversation that included an unidentified local youth, Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley reports.
On the morning of Sept. 16, a Bellefontaine High School secretary playing messages received overnight heard the threat and administrators made the decision to evacuate students and staff to to the bleachers of nearby AcuSport Stadium, where they waited until bomb locating dogs from multiple agencies arrived to clear the building.
An Allen County Sheriff’s Deputy and his dog begin a sweep the morning of Sept. 16 in the east parking lot at Bellefontaine High School, 555 E. Lake Ave., Bellefontaine, in response to a bomb threat received by school officials. (EXAMINER PHOTO | JOEL E. MAST)
Locally, police investigators began to develop leads to indicate the threat may not have come from a local source, and worked extensively with agencies across the country to identify the suspect, Chief Standley reports.
Recently, detectives with the Highland Park Police Department confirmed they located and charged the 14-year-old boy. He is believed to have made three different bomb threats — the local one, one in Florida and another in Illinois.
The teen will be prosecuted in Illinois with the assistance of local authorities instead of filing separate cases in all three states, the chief said.
Investigators believe the suspect was in an online Skype group discussion with other juveniles, including a teen from Bellefontaine. He was able to identify through that group conversation where some of the group members were from and this seems to be the reason he chose Bellefontaine High School.
None of the other teens involved in the online conversation will be charged as they did not appear to know the online chat would lead to bomb threats at their schools, Chief Standley said.
The police chief encouraged parents to be watchful concerning their children’s online habits.
“This is a case of a teenager who chose to make poor decisions and create unnecessary alarm because of a clear-cut misuse of social media,” he said Friday. “It is also a case that should make all parents stand up and take notice of their children’s online habits. We are thankful for the thorough investigation into this case by so many different agencies to bring it to a close.”