Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey says the threats to local schools have got to stop, and those who are caught making them will face consequences. The latest school threat shut down St. Joseph High School early on Tuesday, but Bailey tells WSJM News there have been threats at Lakeshore, Coloma, Watervliet, and New Buffalo in the last week. He says most of the time, the culprits say the threat was just a joke. That doesn’t make them OK.
“Even if it’s a prank or a joke, the person that’s sending them out is going to be held accountable and be charged with a crime because it’s putting a lot of anxiety on the schools, the teachers, the administrative staff, the students, the parents, and it can’t be tolerated,” Bailey said. “This is just nonsense.”
St. Joseph High School students were sent home late Tuesday morning due to threatening graffiti found in two restrooms. Bailey says false threats are taken seriously.
“It’s still a crime to make a false threat.”
Bailey says a lot of police and school resources are being wasted by these threats because they all have to be investigated. He says these issues are being referred to the prosecutor, and convictions can mean jail time or time at the juvenile center. Bailey asks parents to talk to their kids and keep an eye on their phone use.
