Teen charged with felony in school hammer attack

JOHNSBURG – A District 12 student faces felony charges after police say he attacked another student with a hammer last week at the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus.

Colton Bianchi, 17, of 5413 Lucina Ave. in Pistakee Highlands, was charged with aggravated battery in connection with allegedly hitting a 17-year-old boy from Grayslake in the head with a hammer. The Class 3 felony carries a penalty of two to five years in prison, said Steve Scheller, an assistant state’s attorney in Lake County.

Bianchi is suspected of attacking the boy at the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus shortly before 9 a.m. Dec. 11, Grayslake police Cmdr. Matt McCutcheon said. When officers arrived at the campus, they found the victim bleeding profusely from head wounds, McCutcheon said.

The suspect fled the campus and later was found in a nearby subdivision, McCutcheon said. It was not clear what motivated the attack. 

Bianchi was arrested and taken to Lake County Jail. He since has been released after posting 10 percent of a $25,000 bond, Lake County sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Thompson said.

The victim’s name has not been released. He was taken to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with injuries that were not life-threatening, McCutcheon said.

Lake County High Schools Technology Campus offers vocational training facilities to students from 20 high schools in Lake and McHenry counties.

District 12 administrators could not be reached for comment on the attack. School board member Melissa Tinsley said she had heard about the incident from another board member but had been out of town when the attack occurred. She declined to comment further on the matter, saying she didn’t know the details or what possible disciplinary action could follow.

Phone messages left for board President Tom Liston and other board members were not returned Thursday evening.