Detectives obtain search warrants
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after someone made an online post that there would be a school shooting at Lake Orion High School on March 5.
The sheriff’s office was notified at 2:51 a.m. on March 1 through a tipline of “an intentional threat to commit an act of violence at Lake Orion High School,” according to a sheriff’s office report on the incident.
The call came in through the tipline from a 25-year-old West Bloomfield man, who said he saw the threat on Instagram. The man told authorities that the threat was then taken down and he could no longer access the account on which it had been posted, the report stated.
The suspect who posted the threat has not been identified at this time but detectives have obtained search warrants in order to identify the suspect, police said.
On March 2, Lake Orion Community Schools Superintendent Heidi Mercer sent a letter to district families saying that district administration and police have been in contact about the threat, and reminded families about district practices surrounding safety and public concerns.
“This weekend featured yet another moment where an online message about Lake Orion High School had to be investigated by the OCSO. LOCS and the police were in contact assessing the message and working to determine its validity,” Mercer wrote. “The OCSO will continue to investigate and will provide additional support to LOHS throughout the week.”
Mercer also reminded parents to talk to their children about the severity of making such threats.
“Often, these messages are thought by teens to be humorous or a teen responding to another student over a disagreement. Regardless of the sender’s intent, each one is taken with the most serious consideration, and the consequences will follow with the same severity,” Mercer wrote.
The full letter from LOCS Superintendent Heidi Mercer to Lake Orion school district families:
Dear LOCS Families,
We are reaching out today to remind the community of our practices and protocols around safety and public concerns.
In Lake Orion Community Schools, we have a strong partnership with local police, both in the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake Orion Village Police Department. While this is a strong connection reinforced at our safety committee meetings and through continuous administration conversations, there are far too many times we need to connect about online statements of concern.
This weekend featured yet another moment where an online message about Lake Orion High School had to be investigated by the OCSO. LOCS and the police were in contact assessing the message and working to determine its validity.
The OCSO will continue to investigate and will provide additional support to LOHS throughout the week.
Often, these messages are thought by teens to be humorous or a teen responding to another student over a disagreement. Regardless of the sender’s intent, each one is taken with the most serious consideration, and the consequences will follow with the same severity.
Please make sure your student understands the lifetime impact of just a single unintended social media post or comment to another teen.
On the other side, LOCS and law enforcement appreciate all students who immediately share their concerns with the school administration or confidentially to OK2Say through one (of) its platforms. These contacts and reports are essential to LOCS working to keep our students safe.
Thank you,
Heidi Mercer
LOCS Superintendent