News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray has placed extra officers at schools today following a rumor of a threat Thursday evening.
According to a written release, Ray said he received a call from a school resource officer at DeKalb County High School, who informed him that a child had overheard a student make a threat towards the school.
An investigation revealed that a 17-year-old student made a comment that another student interpreted as a threat towards the school. Detectives and the school resource officer interviewed the student, who said he did not make the comment. A teacher at the school, who was present at the time of the comment, also told officers that the student did not make the comment.
“After our investigation started, there were multiple posts going around on social media that were incorrect and causing a panic,” Sheriff Ray said. “As a result, I will have extra Deputies in and out of the schools tomorrow (Friday) and a couple of deputies placed in certain schools along with the School Resource Officers as a safeguard for our students and school faculty.”
“We would like to remind all families of DeKalb County that the safety of our students is our utmost concern and we will continue to be proactive in ensuring all students remain safe,” Ray said.
The incident in DeKalb County today did cause some concerns at Upperman High School in Putnam County when students also reported a threat that was unfounded.
The school released the following information to parents today, “We want to make you aware that this morning students were discussing a potential threat posted yesterday on social media of an intended school shooting by an individual student to occur at DeKalb County High School. Some students viewed the Facebook post from the DeKalb County Sheriff explaining the situation and the investigation. Some students said ‘they heard’ after the threat to DeKalb County High School, the threat would be to Upperman High School.”
School officials said discussions among Upperman students about the DeKalb County incident led to rumors being spread throughout the community.
