An 18-year-old Des Plaines woman was arrested for a social media post in which she threatened to "shoot up" the elementary school she once attended, authorities said.
Esmeralda E. Vargas was charged with one felony count of disorderly conduct, the Des Plaines Police Department said in a Facebook post. According to police, the SS-ARS Crisis Center, an organization that receives tips about possible school shootings, informed Des Plaines authorities about a threat made toward the school on Sept. 9. Someone threatened to "shoot up" North Elementary School in Des Plaines in a TikTok post, in which they also stated the Uvalde, Texas, school shooter was their "idol."
Investigators with the Des Plaines Police Department subsequently contacted TikTok to contain subscriber information and determined the poster's IP address location to be at a residence in the 1400 block of East Willow Avenue, police said. With the cooperation of Vargas' parents, police searched the home for weapons, but didn't locate any firearms, authorities said.
Des Plaines police on Dec. 6, received the results of a search warrant submitted to TikTok, which "provided detailed information of a conversation" Esmeralda had with an unknown TikTok user, threatening to "shoot up" North Elementary School.
Vargas, who turned herself into police on Dec. 30, was cited for one felony count of disorderly conduct and released in accordance with state law, authorities said.
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