WAYNE COUNTY — Since the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shootings, 20 students were charged with making threats to Metro Detroit schools, while a 21st was charged with having a weapon.

The Nov. 30 attack at Oxford High School was the deadliest school shooting since May 2018.

There have been 29 school shootings so far this year, killing 11 people and injuring 49, compared to 24 school shootings in both 2018 and 2019, according to Education Week. Last year, three people were killed and nine were injured in school shootings.

All of the charges announced were for threats made towards schools around Wayne County and if the juvenile offenders are convicted, the judges will consider the crimes committed and their rehabilitation when deciding on a sentence.

Students facing charges

A 13-year-old girl from Harper Woods High School was charged with an intentional threat to commit acts of violence against schools and malicious use of a telecommunications device. Her bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

Another girl from Harper Woods High School, 16-years-old, was also charged with an intentional threat to commit acts of violence against schools and malicious use of a telecommunications device. Her bond was also set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 16-year-old boy from Martin Luther King High School in Detroit was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 17-year-old girl at East English Village Preparatory Academy in Detroit was charged with an intentional threat to commit acts of violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. Her bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

Anyone identified responsible for a school threat will be prosecuted to the fullest and parents may be held accountable. — Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad

A 15-year-old boy from Central High School in Detroit was charged with an intentional threat to commit acts of violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 14-year-old boy from Wilson Middle School in Wyandotte was charged with an intentional threat to commit acts of violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 14-year-old boy from Parcells Middle School in Grosse Pointe Woods was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism. His bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 16-year-old boy from Mumford High School in Detroit was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism. His bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 13-year-old boy from Fisher Magnet Upper Academy in Detroit was charged with possession of a weapon in a school weapon-free zone. His bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 13-year-old boy from Belleville High School in Van Buren Township was charged, but his charges were not specified. His bond was set at $1,000 personal.

A 14-year-old girl was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism against Davidson Elementary School in Detroit. Her bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 13-year-old boy from Davison Middle School in Southgate was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism. His bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 13-year-old girl from Detroit Edison Academy in Detroit was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism. Her bond was set at $5,000 cash, with 10 percent down.

A 13-year-old boy from Casimir Pulaski Elementary/Middle School in Detroit was charged with an intentional threat to commit acts of violence against school employees or students. His bond was set at $4,000, with 10 percent down.

A 13-year-old boy from Brownell School in Grosse Pointe Farms was charged with an intentional threat to commit an act of violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000, with 10 percent down.

Number of K-12 school shootings in the United States from 1970 to September 2021, by active shooter status. Data from statista.com

A 14-year-old boy from J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy in Detroit was charged with an intentional threat to commit an act of violence against a school, school employees or students. His bond was set at $4,000, with 10 percent down.

A 12-year-old girl from Palmer Park Preparatory Academy in Detroit was charged with an intentional threat to commit an act of violence against a school, school employees or students. Her bond was set at $5,000, with 10 percent down.

A 12-year-old boy from Strong Middle School in Melvindale was charged with an intentional threat to commit an act of violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000, with 10 percent down.

A 12-year-old boy from Detroit Innovation Academy in Detroit was charged for alleged conduct on Dec. 6 of an intentional threat to commit violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000, with 10 percent down.

A 13-year-old boy from Taylor Exemplar Academy in Taylor was charged for alleged conduct on Dec. 8 of an intentional threat to commit violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000, with 10 percent down.

A 14-year-old boy from Huron High School in New Boston was charged for alleged conduct on Dec. 8 of an intentional threat to commit violence against a school, school employees or students and malicious use of a telecommunications device. His bond was set at $5,000, with 10 percent down.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said that these threats take work from everyone.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy

“We have charged 18 youth in the last few days with crimes relating to school threats,” she said. “Much has been written about these types of cases lately, yet still these serious events continue to happen. Since 2018, this office has attempted to reach and educate every parent with our ‘School Threat Letters.’ This letter is translated into five languages. Recently, we have also sent the letters to all local media outlets. I have personally visited almost every jurisdiction in Wayne County. Quelling threats is going to take the work of all of us. It is going to take facing head-on the access our children have for guns and their fascination with them.”

Wayne County law enforcement expert responds

Captain Jason Bates, commanding officer of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Electronic Monitoring Unit and Wayne County’s SRT (Special Response Team), said that while he has not had to respond to an active shooter situation, he has had extensive training.

“I have trained extensively on entering a building or dwelling to clear the structure of any threats,” he said. “Many of these training scenarios involve an active shooter-based scenario. Our team has held training sessions with the Third Circuit Criminal Court to train officers how to respond in the event an active shooter situation ever arises within the Wayne County Criminal Court building.”

Bates started his law enforcement career in the United States Air Force at the age of 19. He was a military policeman on active duty for four years and began his training with responding to high risk situations while in the military. Once he left the military, he joined the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in 1997 and has been a deputy sheriff for more than 24 years.

“I believe that active shooter situations all have some aspect of mental health issues that have gone untreated,” he said. “There usually is some type of perceived wrong that the individual claims to have suffered. The subject will carry out these acts for some sort of payback or retribution for these perceived wrongs against them. Again, these perceived wrongs, in my opinion, will be related or coexist with serious mental health issues.”

Quelling threats is going to take the work of all of us. It is going to take facing head-on the access our children have for guns and their fascination with them. — Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy

Bates said that he believes that the mental health crisis contributes to school shootings as well.

“In today’s society we live in a world largely influenced by social media,” he said. “As a parent myself, I believe that social media has changed how people communicate with each other. I see this especially with the younger generation. I think that important communication and social interaction skills are suffering as a result.”

Bates also said that he believes social media has a dramatic influence on young minds.

“As we all have seen, opinions good or bad about many different subjects are debated on social media with little to no fact checking and little supervision,” he said. “Conversations commonly lead to insults or dismissal if you don’t agree with the current topic. In my opinion, this type of communication in place of real conversations and experiences has a dramatic effect or influence on society as a whole and especially young developing minds. Beyond the new form of communication, or lack of, I think there may be some real problems at home. These problems range from extremely irresponsible parents that may be missing signs that should be evident, to others outside of the home that don’t want to get involved when they see something that isn’t quite right. Again, an extremely hard question to answer; we all wish we could have a definitive answer to this.”

Police vehicles on the scene of the Nov. 30 shootings at Oxford High School. Photo: WDIV

With there being many reports of “red flags” in the Oxford School shooting case, Bates said he doesn’t think that they are always so easily identified.

“Things that I would consider would be someone that isolates themselves or is a ‘loner,’” he said. “Someone who avoids communicating or any social activity; someone who verbalizes violence; someone who reacts abnormally to normal situations in life; strange or violent expressions on social media or inappropriate behavior for attention; threats of violence; a person who previously hasn’t displayed these behaviors and suddenly starts. I can’t testify to specific ‘flags’; I will say that in my line of work, I have been able to study abnormal behavior for obvious reasons. Parents should observe sudden changes in behavior. Listen to the things your kids are saying. Observe how they are acting or overreacting to normal life experiences. Any time an individual becomes withdrawn or starts to show a lack of interest in communicating or responding to requests made of them or a sudden switch to react with violence.”

Bates said in his experience, communication and action are key.

“If someone sees or notices something is off, say something,” he said. “I think there needs to be a collaboration between parents, teachers, school officials, friends, other family members, etc. We need to talk to our kids and have uncomfortable conversations and seek assistance if we feel the problem is beyond our control. Don’t assume everything is okay. Get involved and make sure it is and monitor what our kids are doing and hold them accountable.”

While many schools have the ALICE protocol in place for situations like this, Bates said that plans are important.

“Have a plan in place, practice the plan, continue to practice and discuss the plan on a regular basis, make adjustments in the plan if there is a need, but have a plan,” he said. “Be observant and call things out that you feel seem wrong. Bring attention to issues that are a concern. Don’t ignore potential problems. Listen to what kids are talking about and keep lines of communication open between schools and parents. I think it is important that we talk to our kids about possible emergency situations. We can’t pretend that tragedies could never happen. I am not suggesting we scare our kids, but prepare them to be observant and capable of reacting if the need ever arises. This would also apply to the adults in our society as well, having a plan or strategy to respond to emergencies increases the chance of a positive outcome.”

Local schools react

Since the influx of threats against schools, Dearborn Superintendent Dr. Glenn Maleyko said that all threats are viable until proven otherwise.

“Last week, we were able to track down five of the students who were all students who had put together these ‘pranks,’” he said in a one-minute message on the district’s Facebook page. “They are not treated as pranks when we don’t know that at the time. Those students will face severe disciplinary actions through Dearborn schools and it is my understanding, through the Police Department and the chief, that they are on the desk of the Prosecutor’s Office.”

Both Maleyko and Police Chief Ronald Haddad emphasized that students are safe.

“We continue to investigate all school threat information,” Haddad said. “We are working with Dr. Glenn Maleyko and the DPS staff closely to ensure that schools are uninterrupted and safe for students, parents and faculty. Anyone identified responsible for a school threat will be prosecuted to the fullest and parents may be held accountable. Student safety is job one.”