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Wilmette Junior High School Student Caught With Loaded Guns, Bomb-Making Materials

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police searched the home of a north suburban boy and found he had loaded guns and was experimenting with explosives.

CBS 2's Jim Williams reports bomb sniffing dogs swept Wilmette Junior High after the boy's mother found guns in her son's bedroom and police found evidence of bomb-making materials at the home.

"She did a wonderful job of calling the authorities right away," stated Mary Lou Bleecker, a grandparent of a student who attends the junior high school.

The mother of the Wilmette Junior High School students is receiving praise for calling police after she found guns in her 13-year-old son's bedroom Sunday.

"It's just disappointing and I feel terrible for the family," said Bleecker.

Sources said the guns belonged to a family member. After they were discovered, police said they found evidence that the boy was experimenting with bomb-making materials. As a precaution, the Cook County Sheriff's Police did a sweep of the junior high school with bomb sniffing dogs. No explosives were detected.

In a letter to parents, the school district's superintendent wrote:

"We want to make you aware that Wilmette Police were involved in an incident in the community with connection to WJHS. There was no direct threat made and an initial search within the school did not turn up anything of concern."

After a rash of school shootings across the country, parents and grandparents insist communities can never be too cautious.

"Everybody just needs to be aware of what's going on around them," Bleecker said.

Jan Gerbert, a grandparent, agreed. "And we would hope any parent would do that in the future."

The juvenile student was placed in a secure treatment center. Authorities reassured parents and grandparents that the school is safe.

 

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