JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Sheriff's offices across East Tennessee have reported several school threats recently. On Thursday, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said a student was charged after a school threat — the ninth arrest so far this school year.
Before that, on Wednesday, the Knox County Sheriff's Office said two students were arrested for "threats of mass destruction." One student who attended Powell High School and another who went to Gibbs Middle School was arrested and taken to the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center, they said.
"For her to be hiding in the bathroom, crying her eyes out and saying, 'Come get me. I don't want to be here.' That's an issue for me," said Tracey Thompson, the mother of a student at Powell.
Thompson said that her daughter has been attending homeschool for around a week. She said that her family moved to East Tennessee a few years ago, and said that attending school has been a shock for them.
"When it comes to seeing so many schools with threats, and just all these lockdowns that they have in everything — it's very new to us, and we've only been here for a couple of years," she said.
Investigations are underway at both Farragut High School and Carter High School for weapons threats. KCSO said more charges could be coming in those incidents.
Sheriff Jeff Coffey in Jefferson County said that there have been around 50 school threats so far this school year, and around nine students have been arrested because of them.
"Parents and guardians just need to explain to their children that words matter, when it's a school setting," he said.
He also said that students who are arrested for school threats can undergo both mental health treatment and the juvenile court system.
"There's mental health and therapy involved. There's probation involved, just from the criminal side. And there's also, I mean, prolonged detention," said Coffey.
So, they are encouraging people in school communities to say something if they see something.
"With all the seriousness as you can, because the safety of our students and our faculty are at risk," he said.