Noose Found Hanging In Boys Bathroom At Royal Oak Middle School
ROYAL OAK (WWJ) -- The superintendent for Royal Oak Schools says that a noose was found in a bathroom at Royal Oak Middle School on Friday.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Shawn Lewis-Lakin said that teachers reported to administrators that some sort of commotion had started on the third floor boys bathroom at around 2 p.m. The administrators who responded found what appeared to be a noose hanging from a bathroom stall.
The school immediately began an investigation and called the Royal Oak Police Department, which is conducting its own investigation.
"All relevant school policies and procedures are being followed," Lewis-Lakin said in the statement. "At Royal Oak Schools, the safety of our students is our number one priority. We take this incident very seriously. We will not tolerate intimidation, threats, harassment or bullying. We will be working closely with the Royal Oak Police Department and will update our staff and families as information becomes available."
The same school made headlines last week when a viral video showed students in the cafeteria chanting "build the wall" the day after Republican nominee Donald Trump won the Presidential election.
"We now have a community full of scared parents and they don't want their children to be at the school," one parent said following that earlier incident. "Now, innocent kids are being threatened and that's not OK to me."
Michigan helped elect Trump by a margin of about 13,000 votes, though in Oakland County, which includes Royal Oak, Democrat Hillary Clinton won 51 percent of votes to Trump's 43 percent.
Demographically, about 91 percent of Royal Oak's 57,236 residents are Caucasian, 4 percent are African American and 1 percent are Hispanic. The median family income is $68,109, and 51 percent of residents have a college degree.
