CANTON (WWJ) – Students have been released from their classrooms at Plymouth-Canton Educational Park, which was placed on lockdown as authorities investigated a report of someone with a gun on campus.
Plymouth High School, Canton High School and Salem High School remained on lockdown for more than four hours during the investigation.
Authorities said students were being released building by building and grade by grade.
Police did not find a gun during the searches at the three schools. No one is in custody and there were no reports of injuries. Police are still investigating the incident.
All schools and programs in the district will be closed on Friday.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office says they were called to assist Canton police after "a report of a subject with a gun" on campus. Authorities began searching for a gun since about 1:30 p.m.
There are approximately 6,000 students at three high schools on the campus. All were placed on lockdown during the investigation.
In a letter sent to parents, school officials said the situation was under control and they are preparing “a supervised release of students coordinated with law enforcement support that is on-site.”
“The release will go building by building. Upon exiting the building, all students who utilize transportation will board their regularly-assigned buses or use their previously planned means of traveling home,” the letter said. “Please be patient as we safely work to get students and staff released from the P-CEP campus.”
All after-school activities and sports events on Thursday have been canceled.
Reporting live on-air at 4:30 p.m., WWJ's Jon Hewett said the scene remained active, but police had given word that "things are under control."
Authorities conducted "methodical" searches of classrooms looking for the reported gun. Officials said “based on circumstances, officers may be searching everyone on campus," and it was possible they were searching personal property, like backpacks.
Chad Baugh, Director of Police Services in Canton, told reporters it was his understanding that a student made the report of seeing or hearing of a gun on campus to a security officer on campus, who then contacted the Canton Police Department.
Police blocked off all roads and parking lots near the school and had asked the public, including parents, to keep the area clear. Baugh thanked parents for following those instructions.
The investigation comes in the midst of a rash of threats at schools across the metro Detroit area in the wake of last week’s deadly Oxford High School shooting.
Dozens of metro Detroit students have been charged with making threats, including more than 20 in Wayne County alone. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has issued a warning that anyone who makes threats against schools will be charged.
The scene unfolded the same day police were called to Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte after an apparent knife fight placed the entire district on lockdown. One student suffered a minor injury.
"Pardon my anger, but I'm pissed off," one Plymouth-Canton parent told WWJ's Jon Hewett, regarding the uptick in threats in the area.
"It's been going on in our beloved country for long enough," she said. "How many more situations like this, how many more precious lives are we going to lose before people change their mind? It's not the kids, it's a reflection of our society."
Stay tuned to WWJ for the latest details on this developing story. >>> LISTEN LIVE!
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