Around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Lake Forest Middle School students and faculty began receiving screenshots of a social media threat towards their school with a specific location, time, and plan of action.
LFMS SRO Craig Frost immediately began a precautious investigation in attempt to uncover the truth and protect the students and faculty of Lake Forest Middle School.
The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputies also responded to Lake Forest to monitor the school, hallways, and classrooms while they resumed their normal schedule.
After multiple students were interviewed, it was discovered that the post was being shared by a 7th grader, who also admitted to sharing the post after screenshotting it from another social media app.
The juvenile was taken into custody and charged with False Reports.
He is currently being held at the Bradley County Juvenile Detention Center, pending a detention hearing this week.
Sheriff Steve Lawson said, “We are taking the school threats which have been shared on social media sites over the last few days very seriously. We want to send a clear message to students that anyone who participates in such activity will be prosecuted.”
The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office thanked SRO Lt. Jamie Thurman, LFMS SRO Craig Frost, BCSO patrol deputies, and Lake Forest Middle School administration for their collaboration, which ultimately led to the source of the social media threat.