Second suspect arrested for planning Pontiac mass shooting, sheriff says

Two suspects in custody for Oakland County mass shooting plan

The Oakland County Sheriff said a mass shooting at a Pontiac high school graduation was thwarted after the suspects were spotted hiding weapons under vehicles.

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - Just a few hours after announcing a suspect was wanted for planning a mass shooting at a Pontiac high school, the sheriff announced their suspect was taken into custody.

Jamarion Jaryante Hardiman was arrested on Friday, within hours of being identified as a suspect wanted for planning a mass shooting at a high school graduation ceremony in Pontiac.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard had announced the charges during a noon press conference. By 4 p.m., the sheriff said Hardiman was in custody.

What we know:

The two suspects were arrested after authorities said they planted weapons under vehicles at the graduation ceremony for a Pontiac school at United Wholesale Mortgage's sports complex.

A 19-year-old has also been arrested, but has not been arraigned yet. 

Both men allegedly placed packages under vehicles at the venue, which were later discovered to obtain two firearms containing 80 rounds of ammunition between them.

Neither suspect is enrolled at the school, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Friday. 

Sheriff deputies were first dispatched to the venue after a fight broke out between individuals at the ceremony. Working with security at the venue, a preliminary investigation by police uncovered a larger plot.

Relief felt after suspected mass shooting plan foiled in Pontiac

Loved ones of students at the Pontiac charter high school shared their thoughts after the tragedy was averted.

An individual approached police about information from a family member that a Snapchat message previously seen included a threat to shoot up the ceremony.

"In our business, we call that a clue," Bouchard said.

The details were relayed to police who later found packages underneath vehicles, each containing loaded weapons. One was an AR-style pistol with a round drum that included 40 rounds of ammunition.

The second weapon was a semi-automatic Glock handgun with a stick magazine, also containing 40 rounds of ammunition. Both were unregistered.

What we don't know:

Police did not identify the 19-year-old suspect currently in police custody. 

Bouchard was asked about a motive behind the planned attack, but only said that people "are quick to violence these days."

"For whatever reason, they think is the solution, whether it's to go shoot up a school or house of worship, it's hard to figure out what a motive is these days," he said.