2 Students Arrested After Threats To Ferndale Schools: Authorities

FERNDALE, MI — Two Ferndale teens were arrested this week in connection with separate, unrelated threats to their school, according to authorities.

A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody Tuesday after a threatening note was found in a student bathroom around 9 a.m. at Ferndale High School, police said. The discovery forced a lockdown, according to school officials, as well as the eventual dismissal of all students at Ferndale's high and middle school campus, and the cancelation of after-school activities.

There was an increased police presence at the schools Tuesday after the middle and high schools were closed Monday in response to the discovery of an anonymous Instagram threat of a school shooting, complete with a hit list of students at Ferndale High School, authorities said. A 16-year-old girl was arrested in relation to the social media threat, according to police.

Both teens were to be held at Oakland County Children’s Village pending review from the prosecutor’s office, police said.

Officials addressed students with urgency in the wake of the threats.

“To our student body I want to be very clear,” Superintendent Bobbie Hayes Goodrum said in a message to community members. “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.”

Neither student had the means to carry out the threats and no weapons were found on school grounds, according to Goodrum.

“While that is reassuring in hindsight, it does not make up for the fear that these threats inflicted on our entire community,” Goodrum said in a message.

Goodrum also referred parents of students who may need support to a list of mental health resources.

“Parents and families, we implore you to talk with your students about the seriousness of false
threats,” Capt. David Spellman said in a police department news release. “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.”