3 Catholic schools in Novi, Warren shut down to due shooting spree threats

Tresa Baldas | Detroit Free Press

Three Catholic high schools, two in Warren, one in Novi, have canceled Friday classes after someone threatened to go on a shooting rampage during school Mass.

Warren De La Salle Collegiate, an all-boys school in Macomb County, sent an email home to parents Thursday alerting them about a "serious" threat and informing them that Friday classes would be canceled.

Regina High School, an all-girls Catholic school in Warren and the sister school to DLS, issued a similar message to parents late Thursday, stating: "We were made aware of a serious threat against Regina High School to allegedly occur on Friday. ... Due to this situation, school is cancelled."

According to the Novi police department, Catholic Central High School also closed Friday because of an investigation involving a similar threat.

It is not known whether the three alleged threats are connected..

De La Salle parents were notified about the shutdown in an email Thursday that read:

"We were recently made aware of a serious threat against the school alleged to occur tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 1. We have alerted the Warren Police department and are collaborating with them to investigate this threat. We have decided to cancel school ... to ensure the students' safety."

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Warren police declined comment.

In a separate incident, De La Salle went into lockdown Thursday after a student reported that someone had brought a knife to school. Police came to the school, investigated and eventually gave an all clear. A 17-year-old student was arrested. No injuries were reported and classes resumed.

The alerts have put many Catholic school parents on edge, though school officials and are stressing that they are doing all they can to keep the students safe and are asking parents to report any information that may assist in the investigation.

"We know it is extremely important if you hear or see something to say something," the message to Regina parents states, concluding: "Please pray for peace in our schools and our world."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com