Police investigated a shooting threat at a school in the City of South Lyon and a bomb threat at a business in Lyon Township on the same day, though the threats appear to be unrelated.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says the Lyon Township School Resource Officer (SRO) was notified Thursday evening of a possible threat of a shooting at Centennial Middle School in the City of South Lyon to occur on Friday. The SRO was advised by the South Lyon Police Department of a nonspecific threat, which had been conveyed through multiple people. Detectives identified and located the 13-year-old suspect at her residence.

The juvenile was interviewed in the presence of her mother and admitted to making the threat. She was found to have no access to weapons and was released pending further investigation. The school’s staff was advised, and the girl was suspended from school pending the outcome of the investigation, which is ongoing.

In a separate and seemingly unrelated incident, a bomb threat was made via email against NOF Metal Coatings North America in Lyon Township. Deputies with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Lyon Township substation and detectives responded to the scene just before 3:30pm Thursday. The building had already been evacuated prior to their arrival and surrounding businesses were evacuated as well. An Explosives K9 from the Bomb Unit was brought in and conducted a search for the device with negative results.

The Sheriff’s Office says the email was found to be consistent with reported incidents in other municipalities where the suspect, who remains unknown, demanded $20,000 be transferred via Bitcoin or the device would be detonated. In a Facebook post Friday, the Sheriff’s Office reminded citizens “if you see something, say something”, encouraging community members to contact 911 if they feel that something isn’t right. (DK)