Police, school officials, students and parents worked together quickly on the morning of March 14 after a student allegedly issued what could be interpreted as a threat against Oxford High School. According to Superintendent Tim Throne, nobody was hurt and the student has been identified and disciplined.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Louwaert, the district’s liaison officer, the post was a non-credible threat, and the student did not have access to any firearms.

Under a Snapchat username of “Anonynmous Anonynmous [sic]” the student allegedly posted a story that partially read, “This is the beginning of an endless (expletive) storm of Oxford High School. No one will know who I really am ‘cause I hide myself in the shadows. If you think you (do), you don’t. Over the next few weeks, there will be some surprises.”

Throne said some parents and students thought the story could be interpreted as a threat, and immediately altered school officials. Students also helped officials identify who the student might be.

“In this case, it was some students and some parents who, as soon as they were alerted to this or something just didn’t seem right, they let us know,” Throne said. “And that’s huge. We have to work together to create a safe and secure environment.”

For the community members inside the schools, Throne said it’s a top priority for them to be able to go about their days without fear.

“Safety and security is at the top of our list for not only for our students, but obviously for our staff and employees as well,” he said.

Louwaert  said he and other officers will use all of their resources to make sure people stay safe.

“When we get reports, we take them all seriously,” he said. “We follow up with all of the resources we have available to us.”

Throne stressed that people should take what they say on social media seriously. Even though this instance may not be an explicit threat, it turned heads and made people alert authorities.

“You have got to be careful with what you’re doing, especially when it comes to social media,” he said. “Parents need to be vigilant with monitoring what their kids are doing and talking to their kids and actively being involved. It can only take one mistake, or even if the student’s… message is not what they meant, it only takes one time and students and families can be profoundly impacted.”

Though Oxford Schools cannot release the disciplinary actions being taken regarding the student who allegedly wrote this statement, the OHS student handbook says students who make threats to school safety can be suspended or expelled. Louwaert also said some threats can be interpreted as threats of terrorism, which can be prosecuted as a 20-year felony.

But, whether it’s explicit or not, Throne said he and his colleagues are always willing to investigate on behalf of students and staffs’ safety.

“Let us know when stuff just doesn’t seem right.”