Teens face terrorism charges as wave of school threats continue

In the wake of what happened in Parkland, Florida, two weeks ago, schools across the nation are seeing a spike in the number of threats called in. When they're caught, they face very serious charges, including terrorism.

Schools across the country are taking it seriously - because they have to.

Royal Oak, Macomb Township, Garden City, South Lyon, St Clair Shores, and more. They're all dealing with school threats in the wake of Parkland. So are the police departments.

"We have to determine whether there is a credible threat that exists," Macomb county sheriff Anthony Wickersham said. "There may just be a student who doesn't want to go to school or there may be a student who doesn't want to take a test."

There's no such thing as a 'harmless threat' - law enforcement have to investigate it thoroughly, meaning there can be very serious consequences including terrorism charges. If convicted of that, it carries up to 20 years in prison.

Ryan Debruyne, 18, a South Lyon High School senior is being held on a $10 million bond after he allegedly sent a Snapchat to a friend asking if he wanted to re-enact the Florida shooting.

"With these threats, whether it's writing on the wall, whether it's a post on a social media, they're very serious and there's consequences to your actions, which can affect you the rest of your life," Wickersham said.

Addressing these threats and preventing them is something that school, police, and parents have to do together.

"The parents should be sitting down and having a candid conversation with their kids on what they say and what they do - and what those consequences are," he said.