Police determine no threat of violence occurred at Berkley schools, despite Snapchat scare

BERKLEY — A potential threat of violence led to an investigation by local police that eventually cleared any involvement at schools in Berkley.

In a statement released Oct. 13, the Berkley Public Safety Department was made aware of a threat that involved high school students that was posted on social media. Police said that, upon investigation, the post didn’t reference any individual, specific school or district by name.

“At this time, there is no credible or direct threat against Berkley Schools, and the post appears to be part of a broader social media trend affecting multiple communities across the state,” the statement read.

Originally shared on the social media app Snapchat, the words “My brother is going to shoot up the school tmr 10/14 Dont come!!!!” were written on a wall. Screenshots of the post were shared on Snapchat and Instagram among Berkley High School students and others in the area.

The threat reached the Berkley Public Safety Department when several Berkley High School students shared it through an OK2SAY report, which is a confidential tip system operated by the Michigan State Police.

“As a precaution, Berkley Public Safety officers conducted a comprehensive walkthrough of Berkley High School, checking every classroom, hallway, restroom, and common area,” the statement read. “Officers confirmed that no written threats matching those shown in the circulating images were found within the school. Berkley High School leadership contacted parents on the evening of October 13 to share this information.”

Berkley Detective Lt. Andrew Hadfield further added that the initial concern was that the threat had come from the high school before police cleared the school. Hadfield said the department got the reports at around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 13 and performed the search then. He added that all other Berkley schools were cleared.

“The further information is that it is coming from another school district and it was just that it continually got shared out … and then eventually got to Berkley students who thought it was their school,” he said. “There was never anything put out about Berkley schools. It doesn’t match anything that’s been found.”

The department stated that it would continue to work closely with local law enforcement agencies, the school district and state partners to investigate the origin of the post and monitor for any related activity.

“The safety of our students, staff, and community remains our highest priority,” police stated.

Last week in the state of Michigan was Safe Schools Week, which led Berkley to remind students and staff of its safety protocols.

“Every day, we have a different message that goes out to our community about different safety protocols we have, like what is ALICE and what do those drills look like in our schools?” said Jessica Stilger, the district’s director of communications. “What community resources do we have available? There’s some new safety language laws that are changing for next year, so we let our families know about that.”