GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — Messages warning of potential school threats, or messages from school districts reassuring an issue was resolved, are happening more frequently in Middle Tennessee.
Lieutenant Tommy Greer with the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office explained the prevalence of the problem, “I almost want to say daily, but three or four times a week, we’ll get some type of threat.”
Lt. Greer oversees school resource officers in Sumner County and confirmed posts promising harm have intensified on social media. He said the posts read, “I’m going to come shoot up the school, or I’m going to, you know, shoot you tomorrow, talking to a specific person.”
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An example of this happened just last week with a post shared among Oakland High School students in Murfreesboro naming a students and friends who would be harmed if they came to school.
“It’s just incredible to think about that children would put out a list of names. They just want to put fear into to other students,” said Sumner County Sheriff Sonny Weatherford.
It puts fear into school officials and parents, too, which was the case at Portland High School in December after a TikTok post caused chaos within minutes.
“They started pulling kids out of school. By the time the day was ended, there was only about 300 kids left in the school,” recalled Lt. Greer.
Why students take their vents viral may surprise you. “They think it’s funny,” said Lt. Greer, “They just want to be the one that causes the school to shut down, cause a panic.”
The reality is, school shootings do happen, which means every single threat must be investigated and several have proven credible.
“The threats that are legitimate, where somebody legitimately has a plan that they want to try to harm somebody, we’re catching them before they can do so. But because they’re juveniles, nobody knows about it because that’s all private information,” said Lt. Greer.
Crime in school is evolving and educators are concerned – News 2 is investigating what school districts are doing about it. Find more special reports on Crime in School on WKRN.com.
Law enforcement can prosecute students to the fullest extent of the law, even those who don’t intend to carry out the act, like one student whose identity must remain private.
“He’s headed to court for making a threat of mass violence. He’s being suspended from school, he’s going to have to go to some type of alternative education, he’s going to be on probation,” Greer explained.
Consequences impacting his life for years to come.
