(WWJ) – A 16-year-old boy from the United Kingdom has been arrested for making threats of violence against four Metro Detroit schools, including Oxford High School, where four students were killed last November.
The teen is accused of making threats on April 8, targeting Oxford, Lake Orion, Brandon and Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Bloomfield Hills Department of Public Safety and 14 other agencies across the country, including Homeland Security and police in the UK, investigated the threats and identified the suspect.
He was arrested on April 13. Authorities have not released the teen’s name or hometown, but say he has been linked to threats at 37 other schools and businesses throughout the U.S.
The sheriff’s office says the threats – none of which proved to be credible – were made by phone and were initially believed to be coming from Florida and New York State, based on area codes.
The teen allegedly called Oxford High School and claimed to be Ethan Crumbley, the teen who is charged with the school shooting that claimed the lives of four students last fall, who is being held without bail in the Oakland County Jail as he awaits trial.
Using a British accent, the caller said he was depressed and was going to “shoot up the school” and “finish” the job he started, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a second call to the school, the caller faked an Indian accent and claimed he was going to shoot up the school. When asked for his location, the caller claimed to be in the school. At that point, juveniles could be heard laughing in the background, the OCSO said.
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The school official told the caller that law enforcement had been contacted, prompting the teen to hang up.
A third call was answered by a Sheriff’s School Resource Deputy and the caller threatened to come and slap the Deputy if anyone hung up on him. Laughter was again heard in the background.
Extra patrols were assigned to Oxford High School after those calls were made. As authorities investigated, they discovered Cranbrook, Lake Orion and Brandon had all received similar calls.
In the Brandon threat, the male caller claimed there was a man out in the school parking lot in a black pick-up truck with an AR-15 and was going to shoot up the school.
When detectives called the number back, the person who answered the phone claimed to be Crumbley. When asked for his location so detectives could further investigate the claim, he refused to provide it.
Detectives eventually confirmed the same number was used in the threats against Brandon and Lake Orion high schools.
The teen was arrested on April 13 and Homeland Security is coordinating possible charges with law enforcement in the UK. The teenager was released to his parents while the investigation continues.
It was not clear whether any others will be charged in the case.
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