By Scott Bolthouse | The Huron Hub
ScottBolthouse@HuronHub.com
Posted Friday, Dec. 3, 2021

Huron Township police are investigating a threat that was found written on a bathroom wall inside Renton Junior High School in New Boston on Friday.

Police responded to the school at 9:11 a.m. on Friday. Already at the school was the department’s school resource officer assigned to the Huron School District.

Police say the threat did not contain any specific time frame or specific target.

Multiple students were identified from school surveillance footage having entered the bathroom from the beginning of the school day until the time the threat was discovered and reported.

All students who entered the bathroom during the specific time were identified and removed from their classrooms, their lockers and belongings searched, and an initial interview was conducted in an attempt to determine if any immediate threat was present.

“We have always and will continue to always take every threat seriously. Unfortunately, in light of recent events, every parent is a bit on edge as we send our children off to school, me included. I have had and currently have kids within the district, and I am very fortunate to see first-hand the measures that are taken to keep our kids safe during incidents such as these. We appreciate not only the relationship we have with the school administration when things like this occur, but also the confidence parents have in us knowing we will do all that we can to keep our kids safe,” said Everette Robbins, Huron Township director of public safety.

No weapons or anything else that presented an immediate danger to students or staff was located during the investigation.

During the investigation, the school was placed in a lockdown to contain any threat that may exist while the investigation continued.

Students were allowed bathroom breaks on request, and were escorted by school and law enforcement staff to ensure their safety.

Parents who requested to remove their student from the school were allowed to. Students were safely escorted to their parent.

Robbins said it was a challenge conducting the investigation during Friday’s scheduled half-day at the school.

“The challenge today was the fact that it was a half day and we only had less than two hours before dismissal. It was important that before we allowed kids to exit the school and onto buses, we needed to identify every student that entered the bathroom where the threat occurred. This was no quick or easy task. The staff at Renton Junior High deserves a lot of credit for helping us make that happen. It is important that parents know that prior to allowing students to leave classrooms, all kids entering the bathroom were identified and, in our presence, and that was by design. Renton students and staff safety was first and foremost at all times, period,” Robbins said.

Robbins said he has no reason to believe anyone inside the school was in danger during the school day.

“At this point we have no reason to believe that students were in danger or that any imminent threat was present. No weapons were located, and we have nothing to lend credibility to the threat other than the words written. Every parent of every student who entered the bathroom where the threat occurred is cooperating and with that said, we will continue to investigate. I know that every parent will make the decision they feel comfortable regarding their child’s attendance at school in upcoming days, but at this point we have no reason to believe that it is not safe for students to return to school next week.”

During the police response to the school, several units within Huron Township police responded, including the Detective Bureau, Evidence Technician Team, Traffic Services Unit, command staff, community policing officers, and on-duty patrol staff.

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