Hartland High Student Could Face Felony Charge Over Bomb Threat; Freshman Knifed

A 15-year-old Hartland High School freshman faces possible criminal charges and expulsion from school after police say he admitted making a bomb threat that led to a school lockdown Wednesday.

The student was confronted after authorities received a tip from another student following a search by a bomb-sniffing dog that found nothing, according to police and school officials. School officials and a Livingston County Sheriff's deputy who serves as the district's school resource officer began an investigation after a hand-written note with a threat was discovered at the school Tuesday.

The Hartland School District after receiving two bomb threats for information to solve the case and a reminder of a reward was given Wednesday. The incidents appear unrelated, according to a Livingston County Sheriff's Department news release issued Thursday, but Hartland Superintendent Janet Sifferman said the reward will likely be paid in this case either through restitution from the court case or the district's own funds.

The case has been turned over to the Livingston County Prosecutor's Office for review, the release said. Making a false bomb threat is four-year felony.

The student has been suspended 10 days, pending a possible expulsion, Sifferman said. She added the student has been remorseful. High school parents were notified of the threat in an e-mail Wednesday. 

"We absolutely hope this this sends the message. It's disruptive to our day," she said. "It's not something we will tolerate."

Freshman stabbed during lunch hour

In an unrelated incident at Hartland High School, a junior student could be expelled after he allegedly jabbed a freshman boy in the arm with an X-ACTO knife in the commons area during the lunch hour Wednesday, Sifferman said.

The injured student was back in school Thursday after receiving two stitches for his injury, Sifferman said. The junior has been suspended for 10 days as he waits an expulsion hearing.

The junior reportedly grabbed the knife from his bag after the freshman made fun of him about his glasses, the superintendent said. The knife, while allowed in art classes, is not supposed to be carried by students.

"This was an isolated incident," she said. "We acted swiftly. We feel this is very serious. … We have a strict code of conduct at the high school."

Sifferman said this type of altercation is the first of its type in recent memory. Unlike the bomb threat, parents weren't notified of the stabbing incident because it's policy not to inform them when these types of incidents occur that involve discipline, she said. 

Programs at the high school to counter aggression will continue in hopes of preventing further incidents, the superintendent said. "Bullying is on everyone's mind," she said.

The sheriff's department is investigating the knifing incident, Sifferman said. Calls to the department for comment had not yet been returned.

While not related, Sifferman said both incidents — which have generated chatter on Facebook and multiple tips to Hartland Patch — made Wednesday an unfortunate day.

"It wasn't a very good day at the high school," Sifferman said. "The air wasn't right or something."

Hartland Township resident Kim Martin, whose 16-year-old son attends high school, says she supports the district's firm response and hopes officials follow through with tough penalties in both cases.

"I'm a little unnerved by the number of bomb threats at the high school and now an altercation with a weapon," said Martin, who also has a fourth-grader and a seventh-grader in the school system.

"I want our kids to be safe while at school. As parents, it's our responsibility to help our kids to interact with their peers in a respectable way. No one should be name calling or reacting to insults with violence. Sometimes I wonder what these kids are experiencing at home."