Ferndale Public Schools said items resembling firearms brought into class prompted a Tuesday lockdown at the shared Ferndale High School and Ferndale Middle School campus in Ferndale, Michigan. The district said the items were not real firearms, the students involved had been identified and removed from the building, and there was no ongoing threat.
The schools share a campus, and the lockdown followed students bringing the lookalike weapons into class, according to FOX 2 Detroit. The station said its report drew on a statement Ferndale Public Schools sent to parents and a social media photo shared with FOX 2 that reportedly showed two students with the items.
The district said the students had been removed from the building and their families contacted. It said they would face consequences under the student code of conduct but did not specify what those consequences would be.
District Stresses Seriousness of Lookalike Weapons
Ferndale Public Schools said it takes anything resembling a weapon on campus seriously because lookalike weapons can cause fear and prompt an emergency response even when they are not real. The district also said counselors were available to students seeking support.
The district said the Ferndale Police Department is investigating. It thanked staff, police and students for their response and for following lockdown procedures.
FOX 2 reported that a classmate said a student was smoking in the back of a classroom when police entered and removed him. The station also reported that district officials said the smoking claim was false.
Latest in a String of Safety Incidents at the Shared Campus
Tuesday's lockdown follows an October incident at the same campus, when threatening messages were discovered in a restroom at Ferndale Middle School, according to ClickOnDetroit. In response, school administrators and police had planned increased adult supervision and more frequent restroom checks at both the middle and high school.
The campus has also faced earlier safety scares. ClickOnDetroit reported that back in November 2022, Ferndale High School and Ferndale Middle School were locked down after a threatening note was found in a bathroom, an incident separate from Tuesday's.
Elsewhere in Michigan, school weapon incidents have drawn scrutiny this fall. MLive reported that in September, a third-grade student brought a gun to Ann J. Kellogg Elementary School in Battle Creek and discharged it in a hallway, though no students were injured.
School Policy and Other Michigan Lockdowns
Ferndale Schools’ Code of Conduct bars students from possessing, handling, transmitting or using a dangerous instrument capable of harming another person. The policy includes a device used in a threatening manner that could cause injury or bodily harm, but does not specify how the district will classify the items in this incident. A separate Michigan lockdown involving a non-firearm item occurred May 17, 2022, at Summit Academy North in Huron Township. ClickOnDetroit reported that an airsoft gun found in a backpack prompted the lockdown, an 18-year-old student was taken into custody, and officials said the item was not a real weapon.
