Ferndale schools add police, security after threatening messages found in middle school restroom
Police are working to identify who left threatening messages in a Ferndale Middle School restroom. The district is adding officers, security and restroom checks, while some parents say they weren't told soon enough.
By OCJ Staff
Ferndale Public Schools is adding police officers, security staff and supervision at its middle and high schools after threatening messages were found in a student restroom at Ferndale Middle School, according to a letter from Superintendent Camille Hibbler reported by The Detroit News and FOX 2 Detroit on Wednesday night.
The district is working with police to identify who is responsible, including reviewing security camera footage and talking with students and staff, the letter said, according to The Detroit News. Neither outlet reported what the messages said.
When the threat is for: The district's letter did not say when the threat was made or what date it named, The Detroit News reported. Parents told the paper the threat referenced Oct. 27. The letter said the district would meet with Ferndale police on Thursday and that its next update would give the date and the safety measures planned.
What the district is doing: Besides added officers and security staff, the district is increasing adult supervision and restroom checks at the middle school and high school, according to The Detroit News. School stays on its regular schedule, and the district encouraged students to attend.
Absences: Families who keep a child home on the day named in the threat can call the attendance line and the absence will be excused, and no tests or major assignments will be scheduled that day, the letter said. FOX 2's report described the same policy without naming a specific day.
Parents' concerns: Some parents criticized how the district communicated. Erin Molnar told The Detroit News her child found the threat just before lunch on Oct. 12 and told a teacher, who passed it to administrators. Molnar said that when she called police the next day, the district had not yet contacted them, and that school officials later told her they did not believe the threat was credible. "Students are scared," she said.
Another parent, Nichole Bruster, told the paper that the email to middle school families said only the middle school was affected, even though the middle and high schools share a campus. She said she kept her children home Tuesday.
A Ferndale police sergeant declined to discuss the case Wednesday night, and district officials did not immediately return messages, The Detroit News reported. The district has not publicly responded to the parents' account of when police were told.
How to report: The district asked anyone with information to report it anonymously to OK2SAY at 855-565-2729 or by texting 652729, and asked people not to share rumors or screenshots online.
The Oakland County Journal will update this story when the district releases more information.
Sources: The Detroit News, "Ferndale district ups security after threats found in school restroom" (Max Reinhart, Oct. 21, 2026); FOX 2 Detroit, "Ferndale schools up police presence after threatening messages were found in restroom" (Oct. 21, 2026), citing Ferndale schools.