Students used knife, sock full of batteries as weapons in Wheaton North H.S. brawl: prosecutors

Seven teenage girls have been charged in connection with a large fight Tuesday at Wheaton North High School in the north suburb.

The “premeditated brawl” broke out about 7 a.m. in the hallway near the cafeteria at the school, 701 W. Thomas Road in Wheaton, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

One of the girls involved was armed with a pocket knife, another was wielding a sock full of batteries and a third was using a sock containing a can of green beans, prosecutors said.

Officers from the Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Carol Stream police departments assisted school officials in breaking up the fight, the state’s attorney’s office said.

“The alleged actions against the students in this incident will absolutely not be tolerated,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the statement. “School safety continues to be a top priority of my administration and any incident that disrupts school safety or the ability of teachers to teach and students to learn will be met with serious consequences.”

No serious injuries were reported, according to a statement from the city of Wheaton. The school was temporarily placed on a “secure and teach” lockdown, which was lifted shortly before 9 a.m.

All are charged with a felony count of mob action for the fight, prosecutors said. Three of the girls are also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and one is charged with aggravated battery to a teacher.

Each of the girls appeared in court for a detention hearing Wednesday, the state’s attorney’s office said. All were ordered fitted with a GPS monitoring device and released to the custody of their parents.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.