Aurora man charged with threatening Crystal Lake school, North Aurora police

Sahduddin S. Ahmed

A 27-year-old Aurora man has been charged with making threats against a Crystal Lake elementary school and the North Aurora Police Department.

Sahduddin S. Ahmed, of the 3100 block of Cambria Court, is charged with felony disorderly conduct and felony threatening a school building.

At a bail review hearing Friday, Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Brandon Raney said Ahmed is accused of making at least 364 reports during five weeks to police agencies. Ahmed is accused of threatening a shooting at Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Crystal Lake, to bomb the North Aurora Police Department and the White House, and to kidnap the president’s family, Raney said.

“While these were ultimately untrue, they required real-world action from people to investigate these actions,” Raney told Judge Alice Tracy. He said the calls “put people, parents of children, teachers and employees in real fear of just going to work.”

According to a written police synopsis presented to the judge, North Aurora police said Ahmed filed reports, beginning Jan. 14, using the department’s online report system. He used another person’s name for some of them. He also filed online reports with the Crystal Lake and Lake in the Hills police departments, according to the synopsis.

North Aurora police went to his home on Feb. 15 and asked him to stop filing reports. After that, according to the synopsis, Ahmed filed more reports. One report alleged misconduct by an officer who had come to his house. It was filed in the name of another police officer.

Others alleged that he would shoot up the school and bomb the police department unless he was paid an unspecified amount of bitcoin cryptocurrency, according to the synopsis. Five others alleged he was going to blow up the White House, kill the president and kidnap the president’s family.

The synopsis said Ahmed used to live in Crystal Lake and Lake in the Hills.

Ahmed’s attorney, John Kopp, asked for bail to be reduced to $10,000. He said the information presented by North Aurora police showed “largely very presumptuous” connections, at best, to Ahmed. Those included IP addresses in San Francisco and New York, not Ahmed’s physical location, he said.

Tracy refused to reduce Ahmed’s bail. He remains in the Kane County jail on $50,000 bail as of Friday afternoon. He would need to post $5,000 to be released before trial.

Should Ahmed be released on bond, he is not allowed to use a telephone, computer or any other electronic device except to attend his next court hearing by Zoom. He also has been ordered to have no contact with the school.