Rochester student arrested for allegedly threatening ‘something bad’ on last day of school

ROCHESTER HILLS — A Rochester High School student was arrested June 6 after reportedly writing a threatening graffiti message in a bathroom to avoid taking a test.

School administrators were alerted by a student that a threatening message, in the form of graffiti, had been discovered in the male bathroom on June 5. The message, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, read, “something bad [sic] gonna happen Friday” and “stay home Friday, sum [sic] bad gonna [sic] happen Friday.”

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, which was also alerted of the incident, said a school resource deputy working with school officials was able to identify and arrest the student who allegedly made the threat. Deputies said the student, whose identity was not revealed by authorities, admitted he wanted classes canceled because he was not prepared for a test.

The 16-year-old student, a sophomore, was taken to Oakland County Children’s Village and deputies said he was expected to be charged with threatening to commit an act of violence against a school. 

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the Sheriff’s Office has “zero tolerance for anyone who makes threats against a school or any location.”

“All threats will be investigated, and we will seek to hold the perpetrators fully accountable. A threat by itself terrorizes our community and is completely unacceptable,” Bouchard said in a prepared statement. “We are proud of the student that reported the threat, because students or school officials are more likely to see or hear a threat before us, and looping us in is a critical component of getting in front of a threat or safety concern.”