A 14-year-old male from Naperville has been charged with possessing a loaded semiautomatic pistol during a “teen takeover” event over the weekend, according to a joint news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney and Naperville Police Department.
The juvenile has been charged with one count of unlawful possession of a weapon.
He appeared at his detention hearing on Monday, where Judge Chantelle Porter released him on home detention with electronic monitoring.
Naperville teen allegedly found with a loaded handgun during a “teen takeover” event
On June 14, shortly after 7:30 p.m., officers were conducting additional patrols of the area of Washington Street and Jefferson Avenue during what officials described as a “teen takeover” event in downtown Naperville.
While patrolling, an officer allegedly saw the teen acting suspiciously and made contact with him, according to officials. The officer conducted a safety pat down, during which he allegedly found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun in the teen’s waistband.
He was then taken into custody.
Officials praise the Naperville Police Department for its vigilance
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin praised the Naperville Police Department’s “vigilant policing.”
“The allegation that a fourteen-year-old boy was in possession of a loaded, semi-automatic handgun during an extremely crowded event in downtown Naperville is extremely disturbing,” said Berlin. “Once again, the Naperville Police Department’s vigilant policing and heads up work led to the removal of an allegedly illegally possessed handgun from our streets and possibly prevented a future tragedy.”
Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres echoed Berlin’s statements, emphasizing the NPD’s commitment to public safety.
“Residents and visitors to Naperville should expect to continue seeing a large police presence in our downtown, at special events, and anywhere large groups are congregating. We take our responsibility to keep this community safe very seriously and will have zero tolerance for criminal, disruptive, or unsafe behavior that puts others at risk,” said Arres.
The juvenile will next appear in court on June 27.
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