2 arrested after Rutherford County Schools receive ‘more than a dozen threats’ in a two-week span

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Deputies in Rutherford County announced Tuesday that two juveniles have been arrested in relation to threats that were made on social media targeting schools.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) said the school district has received more than a dozen threats since the tragic school shooting that occurred at Apalachee High School in Georgia, which resulted in the death of two students and two staff members.

Authorities said each threat was investigated by school resources officers, patrol deputies and detectives. According to RCSO, an investigation revealed that those responsible “showed no intent to carry out these threats.”

However, the investigation resulted in the arrests of two juveniles who reportedly made threats on social media that were related to Whitworth Buchanan Middle School and Riverdale High School.

In addition, deputies said an investigation showed that students are reposting old social media threats or copying posts from threats that took place in other states. Officials said reposting these threats cause “unnecessary panic.”

In fact, one post that was made Monday actually came from a screenshot of a social media post that was made in 2018, deputies said.

The sheriff’s office is now urging people to “Report it, Don’t Repost it” when it comes social media posts or texts that contain potential threats to a school. In a statement, officials said this will allow them to establish the validity of threat much faster.

READ MORE | Latest headlines from Murfreesboro and Rutherford County

“The safety and security of our students and teachers are paramount and we need the cooperation of students and parents to help us to resolve these incidents as quickly as possible,” said Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh.

School districts across Middle Tennessee have recently dealt with potential threats that ended up being non-credible. A recent report by News 2 found that a Tennessee law that made school threats a zero-tolerance offense has led to a surge in expulsions.

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