Woman arraigned in false report of attack on Fordson
A woman has been charged with making a false police report after she allegedly fabricated a plot to blow up Dearborn Fordson High School to retaliate against the November terrorist attacks in Paris.
Saida Chatti was arraigned Thursday in Dearborn’s 18th District Court on charges of false report or threat of a bomb/harmful device, a felony punishable by more than five years in prison. Bond was set at $2,500.
Police say Chatti called Dearborn investigators Nov. 19, six days after Islamic extremists killed 130 people in Paris. Suicide bombers and gunmen struck a sports stadium during a soccer match, a theater during a rock concert, cafes and restaurants.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Chatti “contacted the Dearborn Police Department to report that an ‘anonymous’ friend had overheard a group of individuals at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi threatening to bomb Fordson High School in retaliation for the attacks in Paris,” according to a Dearborn police press release.
Fordson has a predominantly Arab-American student body.
“We get a number of threats against Dearborn, mostly from people on Twitter and Facebook, especially after high-profile events like Paris, because of our Muslim population,” Lt. Ron Beggs of the Dearborn police investigative division told The Detroit News on Friday. “So we take these very seriously.
“We expended a lot of resources to investigate this woman’s claim. It became apparent there were holes in her story. When we presented her with the evidence, she admitted it was a false report.”
The woman gave conflicting reasons why she made the false report, Beggs said, although he added he wasn’t at liberty to elaborate. “Those are all facts that will come out in court,” he said.
A probable cause conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday in Wayne Circuit Court.
“We will not tolerate any deliberate acts, meant to terrorize or frighten our community,” Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a written statement.
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