Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office deputies, along with law enforcement and first responders throughout the county responded Wednesday morning to Brainerd High School after a call an active shooter was in the building.
TBI is currently working with state and federal partners to determine the source of several hoax calls, placed to local law enforcement agencies, reporting an active shooter at several high schools in the state.
At this time, none of these reports has proven credible and there is no known immediate threat to public safety at this time, the TBI said.
The call sent a number of local police vehicles racing to the school on North Moore Road at at late morning Wednesday.
After further investigation, the phone call was found to be one of several "swatting calls" made alleging threats to schools throughout East Tennessee.
Law enforcement personnel were on the scene at Brainerd High School and no confirmed active shooter threat was located.
Swatting calls are meant to be a tactic utilized to deceive emergency services and law enforcement by contacting dispatchers or other communication means alleging a false incident is occurring to solicit a response.
For more information about swatting calls and how they are being used to disrupt normal operations of schools, hospitals, and other government-based organizations, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting.
County School officials said, "Earlier today, Brainerd High School was the subject of a hoax that caused fear, anxiety, and a large community response to ensure the safety of students and staff. Fortunately, today’s incident did not result in harm coming to anyone at Brainerd High. However, the response to the threat of violence showed us how committed our entire community is to protecting our students.
"There are many people we must thank for the way they handled a situation that was dynamic and filled with uncertainty. Thank you to the Brainerd High administration, staff, and students for the calm and efficient way they reacted to a potential threat and the steps taken to protect them. Thank you to Brainerd High families for their patience and understanding as the school worked through the process of reuniting them with their children. Finally, thank you to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Chattanooga Police Department, and all the first responders who deployed to Brainerd High. Today, we saw the definition of a community coming together in the face of crisis, and we are grateful for the response in this challenging situation.
"As we move forward, resources will be deployed to Brainerd for students and families as they process the stress of this day.
"Hamilton County Schools will continue its cooperation with local, state, and national law enforcement to determine the source of today’s hoax, which involved schools in several counties across the state.
"Hamilton County Schools is pleased with the response to today’s incident, and we will review all aspects of that response to determine where we can improve in the future.
"Again, thank you to everyone who was impacted by and responded to the incident this morning. Keeping our schools safe is a collaborative effort, and we appreciate everyone’s commitment to making that happen today."