Taft Increasing Security Measures, Ferndale Police Chief Says

There are still no suspects in Thursday's shooting at , Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins told Ferndale City Council on Monday night.

 approached an alternative education student exiting Taft. According to police, the would-be shooter demanded items from the student, pointing the gun to his chest.

The student pushed the gun away and the assailant ended up shooting the student in the leg.

"All indications say it was a robbery," Collins said. "It was not a school fight incident that spilled over after school."

Collins said detectives have been following up and interviewing many people.

"The young man shot is still in the hospital today (Monday)," he said. "He's OK."

In response to the shooting, the police department and school district are working to improve the security plan at Taft. "They have security cameras, they have them in hand and shortly we will be assisting them in camera placement," Collins said.

The police department would be providing extra patrols every day this week, before and after school, until the holiday break, he added.

Despite the shooter not being captured, Collins said he was pleased with the response of the force and the departments who helped out. "The schools were locked down citywide very quickly. We had Oakland County providing air support very quickly. Madison Heights gave us a tracking down within 15 minutes of the event," Collins said. "We quarantined the area and physically checked every back yard.

"The plan worked but the bad guy did get away."

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The suspect was described as:

• black male
• 18-20 years old
• 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9 in height
• medium build
• clean shaven
• dark knit hat
• dark hooded sweatshirt
• tan (pancake) colored pants

Anybody with information should contact the Ferndale Police Department at 248-541-3650 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800 SPEAK UP (800-773-2587).

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