(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Woodstock High School student was arrested Monday afternoon on a felony disorderly conduct charge for allegedly writing a threat involving gun violence on a school bathroom stall last week.
A similar message was left in a bathroom at Fischer Middle School in Aurora on Friday.
Niles Police arrested two adolescents last week for making threats against Gemini Middle School and Clarence Culver Elementary School.
While it’s impossible to know every student’s motive, experts say there’s often an increase in threats following school shootings like the one in Oxford, Mich.
“There are definitely copycat threats that happen and even with social media, kids are learning more about what's happening in the world,” said Melissa Hedlund Nelson PhD, ATR-BC, LCPC, SEP, CADC, and clinical therapist with Linden Oaks Behavioral Health.
Other factors include the stress created by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Hedlund Nelson said kids are struggling to cope.
“This is a really difficult time for all of us to be living in, but especially our adolescents,” said Hedlund Nelson. “They're tired and some of them are very isolated and not having the support and the resources that they need.”
It’s also about anatomy. Teens' brains aren’t fully developed, meaning they’re more likely to make impulsive decisions without thinking about the consequences.
“Many adolescents have said to me, ‘Melissa, we had a threat and we got out of school for the day’ and that was really the motive.”
Regardless of the reasoning, Hedlund Nelson said it’s important for parents to talk to their children about the resources available to them.
“Staying in communication is one of the greatest reducers of anxiety,” she said. “There's body-based coping skills, there's deep breathing, there's therapies too that can help with all of that, but I think it really centers around just open communication.”
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