Police: Hadley Knife Incident Not Gang Related

An 8th-grader at showed a peer a pocket knife on Sept. 8, according to officials. 

The male student approached another student in the hallway and questioned him about participation in a gang. A verbal exchanged followed, then the male showed the fellow student a small, folding pocket knife, according to Glen Ellyn Deputy Police Chief Bill Holmer.
   
“One kid asked the other kid if he was a member of a specific gang. We think it was based on the color of the kid's jacket,” said Holmer.

After an investigation, Holmer’s department ruled that the knife was not shown in an “aggressive" or threatening manner.

The school lead an investigation and also found that "there was no threatening intent," according to Principal Chris Dransoff. The principal said the incident was more “goofing around” than anything.

Dransoff said the student carrying the knife has never been in trouble before and is a good student. The does not believe the student is a member of a gang, and Holmer said there is no indication of any gang activity at Hadley.

Dransoff would not specify the type of punishment the student received but said it’s in line with school policy for these types of situations.

The school first became aware of the situation when parents phoned the school the evening of Sept. 8. The student who saw the knife told his parents who then called the school and police department.

Dransoff told the parents when the boy came to school the next morning, Sept. 9, they would look through the yearbook to find the individual he saw with the pocket knife.

The next morning the police department called the school to inquire about the incident and began an investigation.