Two students, 15 and 13, arrested after threats made to schools

Two different threats to separate schools have resulted in two teenagers locked up in Children’s Village just weeks before the Christmas break begins.

A 15-year-old high school student and a 13-year-old middle school pupil are jailed, both accused of making a threat involving guns at schools in Oakland County. The students are in the Lake Orion and Waterford districts.

The high schooler was arrested Thursday as Sheriff Michael Bouchard warned that threats would be investigated and prosecuted, with schools throughout the county and then region shutting down to threats shared and concerns about copycat gun violence.

On Friday, schools in the region again were closed and schools as far as Mt. Pleasant were sending students home after similar problems emerged. Both Lake Orion and Rochester holiday parades were cancelled as well as the communities in the area remain on edge, both grieving the tragedy and apprehensive because of continued chatter about threats.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that the Lake Orion threat had come just one day after the fatal shooting at Oxford High School on Tuesday, which has left four students dead and a sophomore potentially facing life in prison with murder and terrorism charges levied.

The threat was levied Wednesday against neighboring Lake Orion High School, the sheriff’s office reported.

A junior at the school, he said he would “shoot up the school if he could get a gun,” the sheriff’s office reported.

Detectives from the sheriff’s office arrested the youth at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday at this Orion Township home. He is potentially facing a charge of making a terrorist threat, with an expected court appearance on Friday afternoon at Oakland County Probate Court in front of a referee.

“School districts around the state have closed because of concerns for student and staff safety,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “We have seen first-hand the tragic consequences when these statements turn

into action.

“Some may think it is a joke. It is not.

“Others see it as a way to get out of school or it may be a real precursor that requires us to intervene and prevent. We are aggressively investigating each of these threats and will seek to hold anyone accountable who makes such threats.”

In nearby Waterford, a 13-year-old Mason Middle School student was questioned about a threat involving a picture of a gun.

The post contained a picture of a firearm with the caption, “mason better watch out,” Waterford police said.

“Patrol officers and investigators spent the afternoon and evening following up on leads and interviewing potential witnesses,” Waterford Police Chief Scott Underwood said in a statement, saying it led to the 13-yearold’s home. “While speaking with the 13-year-old and his parents, the student admitted to creating and posting the threatening message. Officers took the juvenile into custody and he was lodged at the Oakland County Children’s Village.”

The teenager was charged with knowingly making a false report of terrorism, and he is due back for a next hearing on Dec. 20 in front of a probate judge.

Underwood reiterated that police and investigators will take threats seriously and seek full charges allowed under the law.

Meanwhile, Oakland County’s prosecutor announced involuntary manslaughter charges against Ethan Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, alleging negligence in providing easy access to a gun and dismissing a report from school that he had first been searching for ammunition on a web browser and later had been seen with drawing of a violent imagery and mentions of blood.