Richmond Middle School student brought knife to class, made threat
FOX 2 (WJBK) - Richmond schools say that a student brought a knife to the middle school and made a threat Monday.
In a letter to parents and guardians, a "small, survival-type" knife was found and confiscated, said Superintendent Brian J. Walmsley. After being reported, he adds that school administration went to the classroom the student was and escorted him to the office immediately.
"A verbal threat referencing the knife was made by the student in question; however, the knife was not wielded in a threatening manner," the letter said.
The school was not placed on lockdown the superintendent says because there was no immediate threat and the student was detained.
The student's parents were told and that child was taken into police custody for possession of a weapon in a weapon-free zone and issuing a threat.
Walmsley credited swift action by the staff as to why there were no injuries to adults or students.
"The district will continue to work with Richmond Police and follow the district's own Crisis Management Plan to ensure all students and staff are safe," Walmsley wrote.
The school district which is located in the northeastern portion of Macomb County is no stranger to incidents, as back in January three separate threats were made within a two-week span.
On Jan. 12 a student had planned to "come to school with a gun and is not afraid to use it" read a notification from the state's OK2SAY alert system that allows for confidential reporting of school threats. Police had attempted to make contact with the student who made the threat, but they weren't able to make contact with them or their parents.
The second threat was discovered after class returned on January 9 when a threat was emailed directly to a teacher. It was investigated by the superintendent and police and found to be not credible - class resumed.
The first threat was made January 2nd, schools were supposed to be closed for one day while new staff got up to speed. But then a note was found in a middle school office an antisemitic threat to kill a specific middle school staff member and his family.
The staff member had been on the job for just days prior to the threat, but later quit.
Third threat cancels class again for Richmond School District
For the third time in just two weeks, the Richmond School District is working its way through a threat that was made against the education system. Because neither the school nor the police could get in touch with the individual who made the threat, class was canceled Thursday.