MSP troopers and DNR officers helped respond to the threats at Jonesville Middle School. Courtesy | Corey Murray
Police arrested a 14-year-old student after threats of a shooting sent Jonesville Middle School into lockdown Wednesday.
“She just didn’t like school, and didn’t want to be there,” said Jonesville Chief of Police Kurt Etter.
Someone called the school twice around 9:30 a.m., threatening to commit a shooting, according to Etter. The school went into lockdown and let students out early as police officers began their investigation.
The suspect had gotten a man who possibly lives in Kentucky to make the call, according to police. They are still searching for the caller’s location.
The school went into a “hard lockdown” immediately, which requires the school to shut down during an on-campus threat, and after 45 minutes entered into a “soft lockdown,” which responds to a possible threat in the area, while classes may continue.
Jonesville Community Schools Superintendent Erik Weatherwax sent elementary, middle, and high school students home just before 11:30 a.m., and police responded to all three locations.
Around 10 officers initially responded from five agencies, including the Michigan State Police, the Department of Natural Resources, the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office, the Jonesville Police Department, and the Litchfield City Police Department.
Another student alerted police to the suspect, Etter said.
“We got information from a student that a friend had made a comment earlier in the day stating she was going to contact somebody because she didn’t want to be in school,” he said. “They just didn’t want to believe that a friend had done something of that nature.”
When police arrested the suspect, they found phone records that showed her speaking with the caller, whom she met online.
“While we were investigating the number, the state police were able to determine that it came from out of the country,” Etter said. “Those are more difficult to try to locate an IP address, because it was coming from a computer.”
Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jamie Wisniewski told the Hillsdale Daily News that her office has not yet issued charges, but the court often selects a rehabilitative, rather than punitive approach, for juvenile offenders.
“We really look at what resources we can offer to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” Wisniewski said to the Hillsdale Daily News.
According to the Hillsdale Daily News, the suspect could face charges of conspiracy to communicate a terroristic threat, which carries a potential penalty of 20 years in prison.
The suspect is currently in juvenile custody waiting for her arraignment, according to Etter.
“Parents had to leave work, all the resources that we had were tied up just because somebody wanted to ‘SWAT’ us and give a prank phone call,” Etter said. “So the kids know, they might think it’s a non-concern or doesn’t really affect them, but it affects hundreds.”
