Lately, it seems like every news cycle has a report of threats of violence on a school campus. The threats have occurred so frequently, some might consider them the new “bomb threat.”

The most recent threat in the DeKalb area was discovered March 13 on a bathroom wall at DeKalb High School. It was reportedly a vague threat of violence, and it mentioned the date March 13.

A 16-year-old student was arrested and charged with criminal defacement – a class 4 felony – and disorderly conduct in connection with the threat.

The student was caught after authorities looked at video surveillance and conducted interviews with students. The police were lucky that cameras were surveying the area, said Lt. Gary Spangler of the DeKalb Police Department.

Spangler said the criminal defacement charge was bumped up to a felony because it occurred on state-supported property.

“Unless there’s video, [written threats are] tough to solve, unless someone recognizes the handwriting,” he said.

Another local threat was found March 2 in a Sycamore business. It threatened possible violence against Sycamore High School on March 4. The school remained open on that day. No arrests have been made in connection with that incident.

More area threats

An unusual amount of threats occurred in the Chicagoland area after the Feb. 14 shootings.

On Feb. 16, Mahtab Shirani, 24, of Wheaton, a senior attending University of Illinois at Chicago, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in connection with an e-mail threatening violence to the UIC campus. The e-mail referenced the Feb. 14 shootings.

On Feb. 20, East Aurora High School was on alert after a threat was discovered on a 15-year-old student’s MySpace page that referenced the Feb. 14 shootings. The student was charged with disorderly conduct.

On Feb. 27 in Berwyn, a 17-year-old Morton West High School student was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after he was accused of telling friends that he planned to commit a similar shooting to the ones here on campus.

It is unclear what compelled these students to make violent threats, but it may not be coincidental that they occurred after Feb. 14.

“It is obviously very much a copycat phenomenon,” said Fred Markowitz, associate professor of sociology. “Some people think, ‘Hey, I’ll try that.'”

Spangler agrees.

“It becomes a copycat crime,” he said. “They see all the coverage it gets.”

Markowitz said these individuals may be seeking revenge or looking to gain notoriety.

“The media hype fuels it to some extent,” he said. “Then there is always the underlying possibility of mental disturbance among some persons who make or carry out threats of violence.”

Spangler said that if individuals make a threat by phone or e-mail, they will generally be charged with felony disorderly conduct. Graffiti threats on school property will likely lead to charges of felony criminal defacement and disorderly conduct, the same charges that the DeKalb High School student received, he said.

Spangler knows that after the increased instances of school shootings in recent years, these threats must be taken seriously.

“Over time, as far as I can remember, there’s always been writing and threats on school walls,” he said. “They’re taken more seriously nowadays.”