ROCHESTER (WWJ) — A Rochester High School student has been arrested after allegedly writing a threat on a bathroom wall in what the sheriff’s office says was an attempt to get out of taking a test.
The 16-year-old sophomore was arrested Thursday and taken to Oakland County Children’s Village, where he is expected to be charged with threatening to commit an act of violence against a school.
The threatening graffiti was found by another student on Wednesday and told school administrators. Officials then alerted the sheriff’s office.
The messages read “something bad [sic] gonna happen Friday” and “stay home Friday, sum [sic] bad gonna [sic] happen Friday,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Working with school officials, the school resource deputy working was able to identify and arrest the responsible person.
The student admitted to police he “wanted classes canceled because he was not prepared for a test,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
“We have zero tolerance for anyone who makes threats against a school or any location,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said, per the release. “All threats will be investigated, and we will seek to hold the perpetrators fully accountable. A threat by itself terrorizes our community and is completely unacceptable. We are proud of the student that reported the threat, because students or school officials are more likely to see or hear a threat before us and looping us in is a critical component of getting in front of a threat or safety concern.”
Rochester Community Schools sent a letter to the families of the high school students which alerted them to the incident.