DETROIT -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said Wednesday it’s launching an investigation into a recent sweep conducted at Detroit’s Central High School that resulted in 49 students being arrested for loitering.

The organization said it will be talking to the families of the 35 male and 14 female students who were detained and ticketed March 5 by Detroit police.

Detroit school officials and police said the sweep targeted students who were roaming the halls instead of being in class during school hours.

"We are gravely concerned by the fact that Central High School students were arrested for simply not being in class -- conduct that should have and could have been handled by school administrators," said Mark P. Fancher, ACLU of Michigan's Racial Justice Project Staff Attorney in a statement about the investigation. "This appears to be a prime example of the school-to-prison pipeline. These kids already face great challenges, and now they may be faced with having to explain these arrests to future employers and schools."

Detroit Public Schools Police Chief Charles Mitchell said the sweep was also meant to discourage non-students from causing trouble on school grounds.

The crackdown came two weeks after shots rang out in the halls of the Detroit school and two non-students were wounded.

Local 4 learned the shooting erupted when students and non-students were playing a dice game in the hallway and got into an argument.