Teens Arrested For Making False Terror Threats To Michigan High Schools
You probably did it as a kid. Back in the days before caller ID, kids would call people up and pretend to be someone else, trying to get the person they called to agree to something silly. Or trick them into saying something embarrassing. Also famous, or infamous, depending on your viewpoint, was the old “knock-and-run” practical joke. But while playing pranks has been almost a rite of passage for many teenagers over the decades, there are a few things that the law does not look kindly on. And false bomb or terror threats are some of them.
According to Kent County Undersheriff Michelle Young, a 16-year-old from the Belmont area in Michigan, and a 15-year-old from Wilmington, Massachusetts, have both been identified as being behind a series of bomb threats that have terrorizing schools since October 2014.
The boys apparently met through an online gaming system. They contacted the school repeatedly over the course of months, threatening to detonate bombs on the school property during school hours. They made contact via twitter, phone calls, emails and other social media outlets. Media outlets have said that the group worked together to create the threats – with one writing the threat, while another one send the messages or made the calls.
The threats suggested on a few occasions a Columbine-type massacre. Other terror threats included driving a vehicle into the building and opening fire on students. Some threats were made about propane bombs hidden in classrooms. Still others referenced putting nerve gas in the air ducts. Some of the threats were also personally directed, naming particular students as targets, and claiming that Superintendent Michael Shibler would be “assassinated”. In total, there were 20 bomb threats and death threats.
Although the Kent County Sheriff’s Department has declined to share with the public how they tracked down the names of the people involved, we do know that it was a substantial operation. Michigan State Police, the FBI, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, and other local police force agencies. They say that there may be more people involved that the two boys who have been arrested, but that they cannot share any more details at this time because the investigation is still ongoing.
The 16-year-old Michigan teen, a sophomore whose name has not been released, is charged with a single count of making a false report or threat of terrorism. Under Michigan law, this is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. In addition, due to the amount of time and money invested in this case so far, the school district is seeking $31,000 in restitution. The Sheriff’s Department, who also spent hundreds of man hours investigating the case and checking the school repeatedly for bombs with sniffing dogs, is asking for $100,000 to recoup their losses.