(WXYZ) — In the wake of a deadly shooting at Oxford High School, tensions have been high. Dozens of schools in metro Detroit have received threats of violence, sending students everywhere into lockdowns.
“We just instantly started barricading the doors. Tables, chairs, everything just throwing them in front of the door," Rob Hogge, a sophomore at Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte, said on Dec. 9 as his school went into lock down. "Everyone just got real scared. We got people crying.”
The intense lockdowns also led to massive law enforcement responses, leaving students and parents to fear the worst.
Kassie Captain has a son in Clarenceville schools. She says the district had a few non-credible threats that still left her son in fear.
"It was scary, I mean it was right after Oxford,” Captain said. "It’s really scary as a parent, especially as a parent with kids who already have anxiety issues that you try to manage on a regular day.”
In response, she along with more than 10,000 others signed an online petition calling for all Oakland County schools to move virtual the rest of the year. The petition was started one week ago.
“He thrives being in-person school," Captain said of her son. "So for me to sign a petition like that for him to be out of school means I really think we need a beat.”
Some districts like West Bloomfield made the switch, going virtual until winter break. They say that decision was not made because of the petition.
Other districts like Hazel Park remain in session, adding in a statement: “So many children have lost instruction over the last few years, it is our intention to continue to work to facilitate accelerated learning as much as possible during these difficult times.”
Meanwhile, some parents and students remain on edge, hoping these threats come to an end.
“This needs to stop," Captain said of the copycat threats. "I don't have the answer to making it stop but maybe if we all take a minute with our kids, maybe we can at least slow it down. I hope.”
