12/20/12 - A shooting hoax prompted school officials to cancel classes and activities in Genesee and Lapeer county school districts today and tomorrow. State Police say the shutdown in Genesee County, which includes Fenton and Linden schools, was launched when a student at Grand Blanc High School texted his mother Wednesday about shots being fired there. She called authorities, who quickly responded to the school. Despite learning the threat was a false one, the Genesee County Intermediate School District and other county school districts canceled classes. In an open letter, Fenton Superintendent Timothy Jalkanen announced that there were a number of unique factors that influenced local superintendents to close all of the county's schools. He cited local rumors and isolated threats against districts that caused concern for the safety of students. Lapeer County schools also are expected to be closed after officials there said numerous rumors about potential threats of violence and the popular perception that the Mayan calendar predicts the world ending Friday. Schools across the country, including Michigan, have stepped up security in the wake of the massacre Friday of 20 schoolchildren and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. (JK)
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