DETROIT – Detroit police Chief James White held a news conference with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy Thursday afternoon to discuss the recent school threats made following the Oxford High School shooting last week.
White and Worthy emphasized that authorities are investigating all school threats made or reported to determine if they are credible.
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So far, Worthy says the county has charged 23 individuals 17 years old or younger in connection with school threats since the Parkland shooting in 2018. That number rose over the past week following the Oxford shooting, and Worthy says officials are investigating 10 more cases.
Both White and Worthy urged parents and families to talk with their children about the severity of making threats or falsely reporting them. Worthy says it is a crime in Michigan to make a false threat, even if there is no intention to follow through, and individuals who do so will be charged.
Three students out of Detroit have been charged in the last week for making or falsely reporting threats against their schools.
A 17-year-old girl from East English Village Preparatory Academy in Detroit has been charged with intentional threat to commit an act of violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device in connection with a threat on Saturday, Dec. 4.
According to officials, a 15-year-old boy from Central High School in Detroit has been charged with intentional threat to commit an act of violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device in connection with a threat on Monday, Dec. 6.
A 16-year-old boy from Martin Luther King High School in Detroit is being charged with false report of a threat of terrorism and malicious use of a telecommunications device for a threat on Dec. 6.
Several other students across Metro Detroit are also facing charges for reportedly making school threats in the past week following the fatal shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30.
More: Officials update school threat cases for 11 students (ages 9-17) around Metro Detroit
Officials say that after a school shooting occurs, similar threats often pop up at nearby schools and districts, and even throughout the country. A number of Southeast Michigan schools and school districts closed last week over such threats -- of which most, if not all, were found to be not credible.
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