2 students arrested in separate threats

Second student arrested Tuesday over threatening note

Ferndale police Tuesday arrested a male student at Ferndale High School, just a day after a female student was arrested in a separate incident for making threats on social media.

Ferndale police arrested the girl, 16, related to violent threats investigators believe she made on social media that led officials to close the Ferndale High School and Middle School on Monday.

On Tuesday morning police arrested a boy student, 16, after they say he left a threatening note in a school restroom in a separate incident.

The girl’s threats showed up on Instagram on Sunday night. The threats included statements that

the poster had three loaded guns and was going to shoot up the high school Monday, school officials said.

Police arrested the female Ferndale High School student after they said they identified her Monday, describing her as “the lone suspect responsible for posting the threats.”

“We take threats of violence against our community and students incredibly seriously,” said Ferndale Police Capt. David Spellman. “In this case, we feel confident that the threat has been neutralized and the suspect poses no ongoing danger to the community.”

The girl and the boy are being housed at Oakland County’s Children’s Village, a detention facility for juvenile offenders.

The cases are being reviewed by county prosecutors, police said.

Classes reopened at the high school and middle school Tuesday morning. But the schools were placed on a “soft” lockdown Tuesday

morning after police said there was a threatening note found in a student restroom about 9 a.m. Classes were dismissed at 11:30 a.m. Police said they identified and arrested the boy student, 16, about 90 minutes after the note was discovered.

“Parents and families, we implore you to talk with your students about the seriousness of false threats,” Capt. Spellman said in a statement Tuesday. “Threats are crimes, whether the person intends on carrying out the threat or not. Any threat will be investigated fully and presented to the county prosecutor. These kinds of incidents also cause undue stress and trauma on students and families and take officers away from real emergencies.”

Police said they were alerted to the girl’s threats about 9:30 p.m. Sunday when they started getting multiple phone calls about the threat posted on social media.

The middle school was closed Monday because it is in the same building as the high school.

Ferndale and Oak Park

police had increased their patrols around Ferndale schools on Monday and Tuesday when the bathroom note was discovered.

Ferndale schools Superintendent Bobbie Goodrum sent a letter to school parents and guardians Monday after the girl suspect was arrested.

In the letter, Goodrum mentioned that people came forward and shared information with police, which led to the girl student’s arrest.

“To our student body I want to be very clear,” she said in her letter. “Making threats against an individual or our school family, is not only unacceptable, but also a felony in the State of Michigan that is punishable by up to 20 years in jail. If you are considering making a threat on social media, don’t.”

Goodrum further reminded parents and guardians of the district’s list of mental health crisis resources for any students who need support.

“Our school family stands ready to support our students and staff through this difficult time,” she said.