STERLING HEIGHTS (WWJ) -- Members of an FBI task force have arrested a Flint-area teenager in connection with a threat made against a Macomb County high school.
In a message sent to parents in the school district, Warren Consolidated Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Livernois said the teen was taken into custody at his home in Flushing on Thursday, not long after posting the threat via a chat on an online video gaming platform.
Livernois told WDIV-TV that the threat was something to the effect of: We're going to shoot up Sterling Heights High.
Livernois said the FBI routinely scans the internet looking for messages like this one, and investigators use IP addresses to find the people who post them.
“Luckily, a member of the Sterling Heights Police had connections with an FBI task force that was able to track this student down and in a matter of five or six hours they had identified the student and brought him into custody,” Livernois said, in an interview with WDIV.
The teen claimed that the message was meant as a joke, but authorities say two guns were recovered at the teen's home.
Livernois said the suspect may be acquainted with a student at Sterling Heights High, but has no other known connection to the school.
It's not yet clear what charges the teen may face, but if he's charged with making a terroristic threat, as other teens have in cases like this one, he could serve up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The teen has not been publicly identified.
Students anywhere in Michigan who see or hearing something that may threaten students, teachers or school safety are encouraged to submit tips to the confidential OK2Say line at 8-555-OK2SAY (855-565-2729), or through the OK2Say app.
Tips may also be submitted anonymously by texting information to 652729
(OK2SAY), or online at this link.