LIVONIA, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Some parents in Livonia say they are concerned after a sixth grader allegedly made a threat in a group chat. They are now calling on the Livonia Public Schools district to hold the student accountable.
“I really don’t know what it says about society, but talking about guns is so lax towards these kids,” one parent told CBS News Detroit.
Parents at Johnson Upper Elementary contacted CBS News Detroit after a group chat took a threatening turn.
One parent said her daughter showed her the messages from a student who sent pictures of guns.
“It was obvious that some of them were fake, but if he had framed it, it wouldn’t show, and he said this wasn’t a toy, and then I said, that’s enough,” the parent said.
In the messages, the student allegedly told classmates to wait until Monday. Parents were concerned about what might happen next and notified authorities.
‘It consisted of several parts [messages]; it wasn’t just a passing comment. There were several,” the parents say.
The police investigated the messages last weekend. Parents reportedly alerted the district to the messages, but they believe administrators’ efforts were lax.
“It’s scary to know those threats are there because you want to send them to school and know they’re safe,” said another parent.
Parents say when they went to talk to the school, they were told the student had been expelled that day. According to both parents we spoke to, the bag of the student responsible for the alleged threats will be checked over the next two weeks.
“If you can get away with this behavior as an 11-12 year old, what happens when you’re in high school,” said one parent.
Livonia Schools sent the following statement to CBS News Detroit:
“The Johnson Administration worked closely with the Livonia Public Schools Public Safety Administrator and the Livonia Police Department when they learned of a text conversation between some students last weekend.
“As with all communications that may be brought to our attention, all safety protocols were implemented (over the weekend) to determine if there was a threat to the school community.
“Police conducted interviews and a home visit and determined there was no threat to Johnson Upper Elementary. We take all threats seriously and we value our relationship with our local law enforcement agencies, who work tirelessly alongside our administration to keep our students, staff and school communities safe.”
“We don’t know if the child has learned a lesson. I have no idea,” said one parent.
Both parents say they believe the district should have notified families throughout the school about the threat.
“There needs to be reports when these things happen. There needs to be a policy change. There needs to be zero tolerance when it comes to certain things. It’s a serious matter.”
Terell Bailey
