BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — The Blount County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that three students were charged with threatening to commit acts of mass violence on school property, a Class E felony.
On social media, the sheriff's office said the charged students were a 12-year-old from Union Grove Middle School, a 15-year-old from William Blount High School and another 15-year-old from Heritage High School. Deputies said all three were taken into custody Thursday and booked into the Blount County Juvenile Facility.
The sheriff's office said on Wednesday, deputies began investigating after dispatchers received calls about social media posts that were shared online. The sheriff's office said the posts threatened violence at Union Grove Middle School. It said after investigating, Blount County Schools identified two students who made and posted the threats on social media.
"Both of those students were instructed not to attend school today," the sheriff's office said on social media.
Separately, the sheriff's office said school resource officers arrested the 15-year-old Heritage High School Student who they said threatened to shoot people at Heritage High School.
"For the past several days, Sheriff’s deputies have taken multiple calls and received information and tips about various threats of mass violence being posted to different social media platforms. Deputies deemed that many of these threats were being posted from out-of-state and by individuals who have no connection to Blount County. Deputies investigated other threats that were rumors that they could not attribute to any individual(s)," the sheriff's office said on social media.
Students convicted of threatening violence against schools can face a variety of punishments, such as spending time in jail and losing their driving privileges for some time. They could also be expelled from school for up to a year.
Dozens of students were arrested and charged with threatening violence in East Tennessee schools in recent days, authorities said.
