Teen Released Pending Further Investigation

The 17-year-old Grosse Pointe South junior under investigation stemming from a tweet mentioning a bomb he sent yesterday during Rick Santorum's speech to more than 1,000 students has been released from police custody. 

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has returned the warrant request to the Grosse Pointe Farms police to complete further investigation, spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office Maria Miller said Friday. 

Meanwhile, the teen was released shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday, Grosse Pointe Farms Detective Lt. Richard Rosati said

He was picked up by a parent, Rosati said. 

Farms police removed the teenager from the school shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday after school officials discovered a tweet he sent mentioning a bomb and Rick Santorum. The tweet was sent about 15 minutes after Santorum began addressing more than 1,000 South students in the gymnasium. 

The student was not in the assembly in the gymnasium but was elsewhere in the building. Students were required to have an opt-in permission slip signed by parents to attend the assembly and those not attending were to have a routine school day. 

The tweet said: "Hey Mr. Santorum, can you sign this bomb for me?"

The case was turned over to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office Thursday and shortly before 5 p.m. they asked Farms police to release the teen pending further investigation. He is not charged with anything at this point. 

Rosati said the teen was cooperative from the moment police approached him and he described the tweet as a joke related to all of the attention the Santorum speech/visit was receiving, including a bomb-sniffing dog used to ensure the school was safe. 

Grosse Pointe Schools Superintendent Tom Harwood said Wednesday school officials would await the outcome of the criminal investigation into the situation before taking any action with the student. 

The student's parents allowed police to search their home without a search warrant, which allowed investigators to check to see if the student had any bomb-making books and materials.

Additional information was added to this story at 4:52 p.m. Friday April 26, 2013.