Orland Park, IL: High School Fight Leads to Arrests
Fights at Sandburg High lead to arrests
April 22, 2008
BY ANGELA CAPUTO Staff writer
Fighting and violent threats exchanged among Sandburg High School students led to four arrests last week and sparked rumors of growing racial tension at the Orland Park high school.
But police say teen tempers since have cooled. Officers stepped up on-campus patrols Friday after a threatening, racial slur was found written on the wall of a girls washroom. That same day, a 15-year-old student was taken into police custody after threatening to bring a gun to school if he kept getting picked on, Orland Park police Cmdr. Chuck Doll said.
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More police officers were posted at Sandburg High School after a fight among groups of students and a threat was written on a bathroom wall.
(Matt Marton/SouthtownStar)
"We found nothing credible in the threats," Doll said.
Still, talk of students getting jumped at the bus stop and of a rumble that was supposed to go down at the carnival near Orland Square Mall over the weekend continued to stoke fear among some parents and students.
Community High School District 230 spokeswoman spokeswoman Carla Erdey said school officials have heard the "rumors" but believe they are little more than tough talk.
"It seems like there are a group of kids that have a problem with each other," Erdey said.
Police were called to the Orland Park school on April 15 to tame an on-campus fight that heightened tension between a handful of black students and Latino students, Doll said.
Teisha K. Wilson, 18, of Orland Hills, was charged with disorderly conduct and battery after she jumped into a fight on behalf of a 15-year-old friend who also faces charges for disorderly conduct and possession of cannabis, according to police.
Carlos Rodriguez, 17, of Orland Park, was charged with disorderly conduct. He and Wilson are due in court in Bridgeview on May 5, according to police. The 15-year-old student will be prosecuted as a juvenile..
Parents were alerted to the fighting through the school's automated phone system on Friday.
The news came on the heels of a wave of Southland school closures, which began April 11 when Saint Xavier University decided to close its campus for six days because of a death threat left in a dormitory. Chicago police say they have identified a person of interest in their investigation but have yet to identify or charge a suspect.
Parents at Andrew High School in Tinley Park also were put on alert on Friday when a comment written on a bathroom wall caught the attention of the school's deans and police.
"It was determined not to be a threat," said Erdey, adding that there was no connection between the incident at the Andrew and the one at Sandburg. "In light of everything going on, we had to take it seriously."
On Monday, principal Debbie Boniface called for "first-class behavior" to prevail among the 3,700 students enrolled at Sandburg.
And, as of Tuesday, Doll said the school had returned to calm.
"Today was an ordinary day," Doll said. "No problems."
Angela Caputo can be reached at acaputo@sothtownstar.com or (708) 633-5993.
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/90899 ... ts.article
This is outrageous. Orland Park is a beautiful upper middle class suburb. If they don't nip this in the bud the gangs will begin to spill over there too. :roll:
