Online photo with gun, school threat sparks Grosse Pointe investigation

GROSSE POINTE, Mich. (WJBK) - Grosse Pointe North High School parents and students were on edge Friday after someone posted a picture of a student holding a gun with a threatening message online.

The message was along the lines of "Don't Go To School Today."

Not taking any chances, Sofia Ketels says she called her father to pick her up early from school that day.

"I felt uncomfortable being in school, where somebody said they were going to come do this," she said.

"Of course you're concerned and I'm concerned about the kids that made the threat," Ketels' father said. 

Their concerns come after they say school administrators sent out an email to inform students and their families that a student or students from the high school posted a threatening message on social media.

"A young man last night had an opportunity to put a gun away that had been used for hunting season," said school Superintendent Gary Niehaus.

"He decided to take a picture of him and the gun. He sent the picture to a friend, there was no caption with it, just simply done. Second piece is that he Snapchatted it to his friend who added a caption. The caption was so to speak, the gun could be used to shoot up the school."

School officials say that image and caption was posted and students reported it to school officials, but soon administrators learned there was more.

A third post from a third student added the word Columbine. School officials say the three students have been separated from the school or suspended as they investigate what took place. Meanwhile, Grosse Pointe Woods Police say they have increased patrols at the school Friday and they're also looking into the incident.

"We will complete an investigation and forward it down to the prosecutor's office, the juvenile court," said Det. Ryan Schroerlucke of the Grosse Pointe Woods Department of Public Safety. "They will determine what charges will be filed."

Niehaus says he knows all too well about the fear that comes with gun violence on school property.

"In my previous district in Illinois we did have four shots fired into the ceiling," he said. "I know and feel and understand what goes through people's minds and I don't want it to happen here."

Making sure gun violence does not happen on his watch can also mean making sure students understand the consequences of what they post on social media.

"We as adults have to take into consideration that we've got to help kids make right decisions at the right times," he said.