Sheriff says mass shooting at grad ceremony thwarted; Second suspect arrested

By WXYZ Web Team, Darren Cunningham

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    PONTIAC, Michigan (WXYZ) — The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said two people have been arrested for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a high school graduation in Pontiac.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a press conference on Friday that deputies were called out to a fight happening at the Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac graduation ceremony on the property of the United Wholesale Mortgage Sports Complex on the evening June 3.

Officials say the fight between two men began in a bathroom at the complex. It was broken up by UWM security, who told the two to leave. They then began fighting in the parking lot, prompting security to call sheriff’s deputies to assist.

Once there, Bouchard said deputies worked with the UWM security team to figure out who the individuals were accused in the fight. During the investigation, someone reportedly alerted them of a post on Snapchat with a shooting threat directed toward the graduation ceremony. Bouchard said that deputies, in partnership with the security team, began digging deeper and found that the individuals accused of being involved in the fight had also allegedly been seen putting packages under vehicles before leaving the scene.

When officials recovered the packages, they said they found fully loaded weapons with high-capacity magazines. Each magazine held 40 rounds, Bouchard said. Bouchard on Friday praised the work of the deputies and security team.

“I am very proud of the swift teamwork of our deputies and the security of the sports complex that I believe averted a potential mass shooting,” Bouchard said in a statement. “The nearly 80 rounds the suspects possessed being fired into a graduation is too terrible to imagine and thankfully was prevented.”

Christina Somerville said she attended the ceremony to celebrate her nephew’s accomplishment.

“Once the ceremony started, there was a prayer. Right after the prayer, right after the lady had said ‘amen’, she handed the mic back to the superintendent, that’s when the fight had broke out,” she recalled.

Now, she’s surprise to learn that the situation was allegedly more than that.

“We could have not even been here today. We could been very hurt or not here. Bullets have no eyes. It was very scary. It’s very traumatic knowing now what really could have happened,” Somerville said.

Bouchard also encouraged the public to come forward to help prevent future incidents.

“Share information, if you see something, say something,” he said.

The first of the two suspects, a 19-year-old, was arrested after the altercation, officials said. At the news conference, the sheriff’s office said they were still looking for another suspect, identified as 20-year-old Jamarion Jaryante Hardiman.

Shortly after 4:00 p.m., sheriff’s department officials sent out a press release saying Hardiman has been arrested.

On Friday, ATAP Pontiac shared the following statement about the incident on Facebook:

Good Afternoon ATAP Community, On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, during our graduation ceremony, an unfortunate incident occurred involving individuals who were reportedly seeking retaliation against others in attendance. Sheriff Bruchard addressed the situation in a live update earlier today. While a brief physical altercation did take place inside the venue, it was quickly handled by staff and security, and those involved were promptly removed. Thankfully, no one within the ceremony was harmed, and we were able to continue and complete our beautiful commencement celebration without further disruption. After the event, those individuals continued their interaction away from the venue. We are relieved and grateful that our students, families, and faculty returned home safely. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has been actively investigating the matter since Tuesday, and we have been in full cooperation throughout. We want to assure our community that ATAP remains a safe environment, and the well-being of our students and staff is our top priority. Thanks to all of those individuals involved to help capture those individuals.

A parent from Oxford, whose son was injured in the deadly high school shooting in 2021, talked to 7 News Detroit about the toll of gun violence and how this most recent situation placed countless lives at risk.

“First and foremost, this is a horrible problem that is still going on that you would think, after a couple of big incidents that we have had in the state of Michigan, one being Oxford, two being Michigan State, that there would a greater level of awareness, and that there would have been some change, some things being implemented, that would have potentially prevented this,” says Linda Watson, whose son Aiden was shot and injured in the Oxford High School shooting. “But this is a big concern because of access to guns, but really, what’s happening behind this? What are making these kids feel like this is the option they need to pursue? This is where they need to go? This is their only recourse? So we need to have some really big, systematic change.”

Watson said the scare is further proof that we must remain alert to threats and work to stop mass shootings by identifying issues far in advance, which includes having more dialogue in our schools and at home.

“As a parent myself, you’ve got to be aware and involved of what’s going on in your kids’ lives. We’ve seen that happen in Oxford. I’d hate to see anything like that replicated,” she said.

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