A Heritage High School teen is facing charges after allegedly threatening to bring a gun to school.
The 17-year-old boy made the supposed threats on social media, according to the Blount County Sheriff's Office. Two girls reported the threats to the school resource officer at Heritage and the school was put on soft lockdown while deputies worked to find the 11th grader.
According to the Blount County Sheriff's Office, school resource officers from other schools were called in to stand at the gates and the main intersections at the school to search for the boy. Shortly after school started, the sheriff's office said the boy showed up at the school with his mother and he was taken into custody.
The gun the boy allegedly displayed on social media turned out to be a BB gun. He is being held at the Juvenile Detention Center pending a detention release hearing in Juvenile Court Tuesday, BCSO said.
Another boy was also believed to be linked to the threat but it was later determined that he was not part of it and he was not charged.
"We encourage all students to tell a SRO or a school official if they see or hear anything suspicious so they can look into it," the sheriff's office said in a release following Monday morning's incident.
