Dupage Policy Journal

Police arrested Jahad K. Henderson at Glen Ellyn’s Sunset Pool on Saturday, July 5, while responding to a "flash mob" incident involving 200–300 teens from Chicago who stormed the property without paying, pushed its manager into the pool, and ignited fireworks directly into the water. 

Henderson, a 19-year-old Beverly native, allegedly set off fireworks in the pool area before attempting to flee the chaotic scene that included open drug and alcohol use.

According to Glen Ellyn Police, Henderson was apprehended and charged with use of fireworks, obstructing an officer, improper U-turn on roadway and driving with expired registration. He was the only suspect taken into custody stemming from the mass disturbance. 

Jahad Henderson in 2019. | Screenshot from Mile Split IL video

His first court appearance took place on the day of his arrest, with the next hearing scheduled for July 31. 

The former track and field athlete who attended Leo High School, before transferring to Kenwood Academy High School, was at one time committed to South Carolina State University but is not listed on the school’s 2024 roster. 

Henderson helped lead Kenwood to multiple Chicago Public League track titles in 2023. His sister Kori Henderson also excelled in track for Whitney Young. 

Their mother, Kimberly Henderson, is an assistant principal with Chicago Public Schools. 

In 2016, then Oglesby Elementary School Principal Kimberly Henderson told DNA Info about her success using "weekly meetings with... sixth through eighth graders" to calm students and stop them from fighting.

“Kids were accustomed to fighting all the time, and so I had to put some things into place,” she said at the time.

The "flash mob" including Henderson consisted of hundreds of teens from Chicago that overran Glen Ellyn’s Sunset Pool on Saturday. 

Video from the ruckus shows participants hanging out of car windows twerking while driving up to the pool, as well as Pool Manager Christine Giunta-Mayer, a volleyball coach at Glenbard West, being shoved into the water by the crowd.

The group reportedly drank alcohol, smoked marijuana, and stole pool-goers belongings, according to police and witnesses. The massive incident prompted authorities to shut down the park district and evacuate it and required mutual aid from area law enforcement agencies to assist Glen Ellyn Police, according to a press release.

The TikTok-promoted flash mob event, originally planned for Naperville Centennial Beach, overwhelmed the park district, which has since restricted pool access to pass-holders.

“Officers estimated there were 200-300 people at the property,” the Glen Ellyn Police Department said in a statement Monday. “Some of the attendees were observed entering without paying, smoking cannabis, consuming alcoholic beverages in violation of the park district’s ordinances, and igniting illegal fireworks. Due to the unruly and illegal behavior of several attendees, the park district chose to close the pool early. Officers from several neighboring jurisdictions assisted with the evacuation of the park.”