(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Terroristic threat charges have been filed against a 13-year old boy in Kenosha, Wisconsin after a scary incident at an elementary school.
Kenosha police say they found several airsoft replica handguns and a replica rifle, but no real guns in the home of the 13-year-old. His mother is said to be cooperating with detectives.
Police say the boy showed up at Roosevelt Elementary in Kenosha and tried to get in through a side door carrying a backpack and a black duffel bag.
A security camera image shared by Kenosha police shows him in a secured hallway of the school dressed in all black. Police say when staff began questioning him, he ran off.
Chief Patrick Patton says the boy was quickly identified and hours later police took him into custody.
“The investigation revealed that the suspect shared videos and made several comments to fellow students for weeks leading up to today. We want to urge parents to talk with their children and encourage them to share the videos and comments made by fellow students,” Patton said.
The boy had once attended the school but now goes to a middle school.
The investigation found the boy made videos of himself with a semi-automatic rifle.
“This is something that should have been known. This is something that had been told to people, of his growing intentions. We know that there are internet searches and all the red flags that we would look for and would expect someone to report were there.”
It was unclear Friday whether the boy was actually armed when he tried to enter the elementary school. Patton said investigators believe he was carrying a firearm, but the chief has not said whether police recovered any weapons or ammunition from him.
A search of his home netted several pellet guns that resembled real handguns and a pellet rifle that resembled a real rifle, police said in Friday's news release. The boy's mother told investigators he didn't have access to any actual firearms.
The teen told detectives he went to the elementary school to sell candy but later told a social worker he intended to scare students, police said.
WBBM’s Bernie Tafoya, Nancy Harty and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok