LAKE ORION, Mich. – A junior at Lake Orion High School has been arrested and now faces a criminal charge for threatening to shoot up the school one day after the deadly shooting at Oxford High School, police said.
Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies said the 15-year-old Orion Township resident claimed he would shoot up Lake Orion High School if he could get a gun. The threat was made Wednesday, the day after the Oxford High School shooting that left four students dead and seven people injured, according to authorities.
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The Lake Orion High School student was arrested around 6:30 p.m. Thursday at his Orion Township home, officials said. He is being held at the Oakland County Children’s Village without bond.
The student appeared Friday afternoon by Zoom conference before Oakland County Probate Referee Michael Hand, who authorized a misdemeanor petition charging the student with threatening to commit violence with a firearm against students or employees on school property.
A conviction on the charge carries up to a year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.
The Sheriff’s Office said its school resource deputy received information about a school threat in which the 15-year-old threatened to shoot up the school. The student said he had been planning to get revenge against someone for several years, according to police. Police also said several guns were removed from the student’s home at the request of detectives and are being held in another location for safe keeping.
A preliminary examination is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. Dec. 10.
“School districts around the state have closed because of concerns for student and staff safety,” Oakland County 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.”
Read more: Father called 911 to report missing gun, say his son might be Oxford High School shooter, police say
