PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — A teen from the United Kingdom accused of threatening four metro Detroit schools has been arrested.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, a 16-year-old boy is suspected of threatening violence at a Cranbrook school as well as high schools in Brandon, Lake Orion and Oxford districts on April 8.
He was arrested at his home on April 13 and has since been released to his parents as authorities continue to investigate. His name has not been released.
The Bloomfield Hills Department of Public Safety and 14 other agencies across the country, including Homeland Security, and police in the United Kingdom assisted in the investigation.
The sheriff’s office said none of the threats were proven credible and were made by phone from area codes based in Florida and New York state.
Authorities say the person who called threatening Oxford High School claimed to be Ethan Crumbley, the teen charged in the deadly November shooting at the high school. Crumbley is being held without bond awaiting trial at the Oakland County Jail.
Investigators say the caller used a British accent and said he was depressed and was going to “shoot up the school” and “finish” the job that was started. In a second call, the person faked an Indian accent, claiming he was going to shoot up the school.
The caller was asked his location at the time and said he was at the school. Minors were heard laughing in the background of the calls.
When the caller was told law enforcement had been notified, he hung up.
A third call was made and answered by the school’s resource deputy. Authorities say the caller threatened to slap the deputy and hung up.
In the threat made at the Brandon school, a male caller said a black pickup truck was in the parking lot with an AR-15 and he was going to shoot up the school. Investigators called the number back and the person claimed to be Crumbley and refused to provide his location.
The same number used in the Brandon threat was used for Lake Orion High School, authorities said.
In addition to Oakland County, authorities say 37 other businesses and schools in the United States were also threatened by the suspect. Homeland Security and United Kingdom law enforcement are working together to determine possible charges.
“As I said at the time, we were going to be aggressive to hold perpetrators accountable,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement. “In conjunction with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and police officials from the United Kingdom, that has in fact occurred and a suspect has been arrested. Let this serve as a message to anyone who would threaten our schools or any other institution in Oakland County. We will come for you.”
