ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Two juveniles have been arrested for allegedly making threats of violence toward a Summit Academy school in an anonymous online message board.
All Summit and Summit Academy North schools in Romulus were closedMonday and Tuesday due to the threat.
"We are working closely with police authorities to assure the safety of our students and staff," the school district wrote in a Facebook post Monday.
The Huron Township Police Department Detective Bureau and the Huron Township School Resource Officer assigned to Summit Schools began an investigation.
On Tuesday, Jan. 15, authorities announced that a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy were arrested for allegedly making the threats. The juveniles were then taken to the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Center pending charges from the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
According to police, a student reported seeing multiple posted threats on the social media site "Lipsi" on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 11:30 p.m. The "Lipsi" app is self-described as a platform that allows for posting of anonymous messages.
Authorities say the threats were specific to Summit Schools, and included the use of both bomb and gun violence against students during a specific time.
The 14-year-old girl, an eighth-grader from Romulus, attends Summit Academy Middle School. The 12-year-old boy is a seventh-grader who also attends Summit Academy Middle School.
Police say no other students were involved in the incident.
The two juveniles could potentially be charged with making a false threat of terrorism or threat of terrorism, which carries up to 20 years in prison.
The school district responded to the arrests on Tuesday in a Facebook post, adding that classes will continue on Wednesday, Jan. 16. The district addressed parents, asking that they talk to their children about social media and "make sure they understand the repercussions of threats, even those made in jest."
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy also urged parents to have conversations with their school-age children about making threats of violence toward schools.
"As periodic school shootings have become an unfortunate reality across the county," Worthy wrote. "These incidents are naturally publicized in the news and social media."
Worthy went on to echo the same sentiment as the Summit Academy District in regard to kids jokingly making threats.
"Often they make the threat thinking that it is not a big deal as long as they did not plan to actually carry it out," Worthy said. "Michigan law, however, makes it a crime to make a threat, even if the person making the threat did not have the intent or the capability of actually carrying it out."
Read Worthy's full letter below:
School Shooter Letter by on Scribd
