Brandon Twp.- Jacob Michael Young, 17, has been charged as the individual who threatened a shooting in the school district this week.
Young, a Brandon High School senior, was arraigned Dec. 11 in front of 52-2 District Court Judge Kelley Kostin with one count of making terrorist threats, a 20-year felony and/or $20,000 government reimbursement, as well as one count of using a computer to commit a crime, punishable by a maximum term of at least 20 years or for life.
He was given a $50,000 cash surety bond and remained in Oakland County Jail as of presstime Thursday. If bond is posted, he is restricted to his home address. He is to have no contact with BHS students and he and his home will be subject to weapons checks as needed.
The Brandon High School senior was arrested Dec. 10 at his township home.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Greg Glover said Young was cooperative with police and had given details on what he did. The threats, first seen around 10:30 p.m. Dec. 8, were posted anonymously on the smartphone ‘After School? app. Two of the messages, also seen on Facebook after the threats went viral, read, ‘Im warning all of you Im gonning (sic) to shoot up the school so if you know what good for you stay home? and ‘Tomorrow Im gonna shoot and kill every last one of you and its going to be bigger than Columbine just wait.?
The messages were accompanied by what is believed to be stock internet photos of an individual wearing a shirt with the words ‘Natural selection? and holding a long gun, as well of another person in a trench coat in a school hallway. The threats horrified the community and caused attendance to plummet throughout the day Tuesday as word spread. Districtwide, attendance was 72 percent on Dec. 9, below the 75 percent required by the state of Michigan to count as an official day, and far below the typical 95 percent. At the high school, by the end of the school day, more than half of the students were absent.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard declined to comment on whether he believed Young intended to carry out his threats.
‘Suffice to say, (the threats) caused a tremendous amount of anxiety and fear,? he said. ‘We obviously take the safety of students and faculty seriously and if you ever hear or see anything concerning, let us know. We believe in quick intervention. Fear is as crippling as actual risk.?
Young, a student in the district for several years, has no previous suspensions or any significant disciplinary problems in his past, said Superintendent Matt Outlaw, who was notified around 10:30 p.m., Dec. 8 via students and parents of the threats that were posted to the ‘After School? social media app, a site that allows students to anonymously post messages.
‘I am disappointed this took place, it was such a disruption to so many families,? Outlaw said. ‘We have to be responsible with social media.?
The messages pertained to the Brandon School District, although a specific building was not cited. Outlaw and Glover, the Brandon substation commander, immediately took action, with messages sent to district faculty Monday night. The decision was made to not close school, and police enacted a plan to ensure the safety of students and staff. Parents were notified via an automated phone message sent out around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The district faced criticism from some parents regarding communication of the threats and the timing of notification, but Outlaw defended the process used.
‘Every time a message goes out, there are people that have updated information and others that don’t,? he said. ‘There were a handful of people who didn’t receive the message. The incident didn’t take place until late in the evening. We sent out a message just as we would for a snow day or school closure. Every incident is different, we are always looking to improve, but the system itself had no failures. Had we not received (the threats) so late, we would have made (the calls) earlier that evening. Sending it in the middle of the night was not something we were going to do, we felt it was more effective to send in the morning, just as we would for a snow day.?
He added that phone calls were made because it is a more immediate form of communication. E-mails were sent later in the day with updated information, and communications were also posted on the district’s website and Facebook page.
Glover said the threats caused school to open about 15 minutes later than it normally would because of lines and searches.
OCSO dispatched 12 patrol units to the district on Dec. 9, with at least four deputies at each of the secondary schools? at the high school, the middle school, and at the alternative high school, housed in the former Belle Ann Elementary. Teachers arrived early to help and only a single entrance was open to each building, with students lined up outside. Students were searched prior to admittance, with a pocket knife confiscated at the middle school and an ibuprofen taken at the high school, but no other contraband found.
‘We had a number of safety protocols that are less visible and we did that at all three of the secondary buildings,? Outlaw said. ‘The decision was made to keep school open, the police deal with these kinds of threats and we take recommendations from law enforcement. While we take every precaution in the world, the threat was not as specific as it typically would be. Typically, what is happening across the nation right now, we don’t close school unless it meets specific parameters. Bomb threats pop up all over the place and very rarely is school closed, otherwise, you would be closing school all the time.?
‘We definitely have people who kept their kids home, which is fine, their choice,? he said.
A school holiday concert to be performed by sixth through eighth grade students was rescheduled from Dec. 9 to Dec. 16 due to low school attendance on Tuesday, but other extra-curricular events, including a swim meet and basketball game, took place as planned the night of Dec. 9.
Police subpoenaed records from the ‘After School? app developer, Ambient, as part of the investigation. The controversial app made headlines last week as well, after a Flushing High School student made gun threats on the site. That student has been arraigned on a charge of malicious use of a telecommunications device.
‘I have a tremendous amount of frustration with apps that are fundamentally created to have an anonymous forum to target students,? said Bouchard. ‘Any anonymous forum has no good outcome, it becomes a location for bullying, threats, sexists, homophobics, racists’people that post under a veil of anonymity and feel empowered to say things they wouldn’t publicly in venues attributable to them. Our society has lost some of its moral fiber. When you are doing something, whether alone or not, it should be the same as you would do if the world was watching and that is not what this app is intended for.?
Outlaw sent a letter home to district parents just last week warning them about the ‘After School? app
(www.afterschoolapp.com), which is described by the site as an ‘anonymous and private message board for your school. Post confessions, funny experiences, compliments and more!? The app’s icon features a tiger wearing yellow-striped sunglasses and while temporarily taken down by Apple following complaints, was reinstated with a new rating for those 17 and over, for ‘infrequent /mild profanity or crude humor; infrenquent/mild sexual content and nudity; frequent/intense mature/suggestive themes; and infrenquent/mild alcohol, tobacco, or drug use or references.?
In the message to parents, Outlaw wrote that the site contains inappropriate content and has been used to bully and tease other students. The app can be downloaded to smartphones, but is also accessible via Facebook. The message continued that Brandon had absolutely no reports of issues with the application at that time and ‘our new wireless security system would make it almost impossible for our students to access this or other inappropriate content while on our campus. We are sharing this with all of you as a heads up and so that you can keep an eye out.?
A petition for the app to be removed from the Apple store was posted on change.org and gained traction. As of Thursday, Apple had removed the app. Bouchard notes, however, that the ‘After School? app is just one of many anonymous apps.
‘To parents and the public, if you see something threatening to you or anyone, bullying or anything hateful, contact us or your local police department,? said Bouchard.