Crime & Safety
Hinsdale South Student Who Threatened School With 'Southocaust' Released from Juvenile Detention
After being held in the detention facility for a month, he's now on home detention in Darien.
The Hinsdale South student who allegedly threatened classmates’ lives in a promised “Southocaust” has been released from juvenile detention.
The teenager was released Friday, the Daily Herald reported, and will be held on home detention in his mother’s home in Darien.
DuPage County Judge Michael Wolfe said the minor had been a model detainee during his month in the detention facility, having maintained “exceptional grades” during that time.
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The 16-year-old was charged with eight felonies in early October when police found knives, explosives, guns, ski masks, a German World War II Nazi uniform and Nazi flags in his home. Prior to the search, the student had threatened a fellow classmate through Snapchat and further warned his peers of a “Hinsdale Southocaust” via social media.
The teen’s release was discussed in mid-October, but Judge Wolfe said he didn’t feel comfortable releasing the minor before he was able to have a full psychological exam.
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As a condition of his release, the Hinsdale South student is banned from the Hinsdale South High School campus, will be fitted with a GPS device to ensure he doesn’t leave his home, is banned from owning any weapons and using any social media and has been prohibited from contacting four people who are part of the investigation.
“We’re going to keep a very close watch on the situation and the conditions I’ve set in place,” Wolfe told the student in court.
Hinsdale High School District 86 Superintendent Bruce Law said after the hearing the school district is still holding off on a decision about consequences for the student and possible expulsion, the Herald reported.
“We need to understand his status as a student so we can react appropriately,” he said. “As long as he is in custody, we cannot start our student disciplinary proceedings. We need to see if his home detention status means he is still in custody.”
The minor’s next court date is Nov. 10.
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Photo by Anicka Slachta for Patch.
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