Classes at Royal Oak school resume after 911 call sparks police response
Classes resumed as scheduled Friday at a Royal Oak high school after a false alarm prompted police to respond.
Officers arrived to Shrine Catholic High School & Academy at 7:41 a.m., where a toy handgun had been found on a desk in the counseling office, the Royal Oak Police Department said in a press release.
Students had not entered the school yet at the time, and police swept the building out of an abundance of caution, according to the release.
A student misunderstood the situation and called 911 thinking there was a dangerous situation at hand, Police Lt. Rich Millard said.
The 911 call triggered a larger police response, but officials determined there was no threat, according to the department.
"The student just got scared and thought something was going on so she called 911," Millard said. "It wasn't a prank call. It was a student who erroneously thought something was going on, that there could be a shooter in the school."
The school declined to comment on the incident on Friday.
Police have investigated shooting threats at multiple other Michigan schools recently including in Oakland , Macomb and St. Clair County .
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced charges on Sept. 11 against three teens for making social media threats against their South Lyon high school. McDonald said the charges issued would ensure students face appropriate consequences for the incident.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard echoed her statement in remarks on similar threats investigated at Pontiac Middle School and Lake Orion High School on Sept. 6.
"Having investigated five potential or real threats in five days is completely unacceptable and traumatizing to the community," Bouchard said in the release. "I want to be very clear, that any threat will be fully investigated, and we will seek to hold the person accountable for their actions. Whether they intended to carry out an act of violence or thought it was a joke, it is a crime and will be treated as such."
School threats spiked across the U.S. after a 14-year-old at a Georgia high school fatally shot four people, according to gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety
