Trace Christenson

Battle Creek Enquirer

Three teenagers are in custody Tuesday after Battle Creek police said two notes threatening bomb attacks closed the Lakeview School District.

A boy, 13, and girls ages 14 and 13 were taken to the Calhoun County Juvenile Home after interviews with police. Charges are expected stemming from the bomb threats. All Lakeview School District schools, including the high school, middle school and four elementary schools, were closed Tuesday because of the threats.

Police searched the building and by 9:40 a.m. had determined there were no explosives in the building, Lt. Matthew Robinson of the Battle Creek Police Department reported.

Officers said they were notified of the threat at Lakeview Middle School at 300 S. 28th St. at 6:35 a.m. and soon after that district officials made the decision to close all district schools.

Sgt. Troy Gilleylen said two notes that included threats to the school were found. The first was in a bathroom Monday afternoon and given to school officials. A second note was found this morning on the front porch of the home of a student. Officers said the student's mother found the note and reported it to police, prompting officers to close streets near the middle school and begin a search.

Gilleylen said detectives the incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute between two girls. He said school officials were aware of it and were attempting to mediate.

On Monday, police believe a threatening note was written by one of the girls or her friends. The girls signed the name of the other girl in the dispute and left it in the bathroom in an attempt to make that girl a suspect in the threats, police said. School officials were aware of the first note on Monday, Gilleylen said.

On Tuesday morning the mother of the girl being targeted found a note on her porch in what looked like an attempt to make the eventual suspect appear to be the victim, police said.

Officers said the targeted girl had nothing to do with the threats, but the other girl and two friends were questioned and taken into custody.

Gilleylen said the incident led to cancellation of school across the district and forced officers, including a bomb-sniffing dog and handler from the Michigan State Police post at Paw Paw to spend several hours investigating the incident.

"A lot went into this, Gilleylen said, "all over some kids being silly."

It's the second time this calendar year that Lakeview has been closed by a bomb threat. On March 28, classes were canceled district wide after someone posted threats to bomb a Lakeview school on a 12-year-old girl's Facebook page. Both Harper Creek and Pennfield also reported bomb threats about the same time.

Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson



