West Bloomfield Teens Suspended Over Swastika, Gun, Shooting ‘Joke’

WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI — Two West Bloomfield High School students were suspended before winter break after detectives with the township police department were tipped off about an apparent joke that indicated a shooting was planned at the school, according to media reports. Investigators found images on the teens’ cell phones that included a swastika and a handgun.

The teens, who haven’t been named, won’t face criminal charges, the Detroit Free Press reported. West Bloomfield Police Chief Michael Patton told the newspaper the investigation started around Dec. 6 after a student at the high school that she had been bullied at school. “Some other parents” provided information that led detectives to the homes of several students, Patton said.

The “concerning” images found on the cell phone showed a student holding a black handgun, another student who had drawn a Swastika on his hand, and another image that labeled the high school“school shooting site number 3.”

Patton dispatched a team of detectives to the homes of students who were in the pictures and notified the school. “I thought, ‘I’m not waiting until tomorrow to figure this out,’ ” Patton said.

The investigation showed the threat was a hoax, according to Patton, who said students need to think about their online behavior and realize that even posts made in jest can follow them for years. “Displays of swastikas and guns are not funny ... Think about what you're doing before you post this stuff ... You think it’s funny, but it’s not,” he said.

» For more on this story, go to the Detroit Free Press.

Patch file photo