Threat received at New Haven Schools determined to be unfounded, deputies say
All buildings in the New Haven Community School District in Macomb County, Michigan, were closed on Monday as authorities investigated what turned out to be an unfounded threat.
The investigation began after a voice mail was left on a New Haven High School phone line at 2:51 p.m. Friday, but the school staff had already left for the rest of the day. The message was not heard by a school secretary until 6:50 a.m. Monday, the Macomb County Sheriff's Office said.
"The message, believed to be from a male caller possibly using a foreign accent, included a threat indicating the school would be targeted within 15 minutes," deputies said.
"Administration immediately contacted local law enforcement and began coordinating a response, including preparing an evacuation plan for students and staff at the high school," the school district said.
"As it became clear that all district transportation resources would be needed to support this effort, and out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to close all schools in the district."
The sheriff's office sent two explosive-detection K-9 teams to search the school, and no suspicious items were found.
In the meantime, detectives looked into the origin of the call. They learned the phone number where it appeared to originate was also traced by "numerous law enforcement agencies across the country on April 30 and May 1."
With that information, neither the sheriff's office nor the school district believes that the message sent Friday and picked up Monday was a credible threat to New Haven schools.
"The safety and well-being of our students and staff remains our highest priority, and we will always err on the side of caution in these circumstances," the district said.
New Haven Community Schools has about 1,400 students in grades pre-K through 12.
The Michigan school safety tipline program is known as OK2SAY. The program began 10 years ago and provides steps that anyone can use, 24/7, to report potential harmful or criminal activities involving students or a school campus.
