Maryville, Tennessee – Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong said deputies charged three Blount County School students with threatening to commit an act of mass violence on school property by delinquent, a Class E felony.
The students, a 12 year-old male student at Union Grove Middle School, a 15-year-old female student at William Blount High School and a 15-year-old male student at Heritage High School, were taken into custody today and booked into the Blount County Juvenile Facility this afternoon.
Wednesday evening, deputies with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Blount County District Attorney and Blount County School administrators, began investigating after Blount County Dispatch began receiving multiple calls in reference to social media posts that were being shared citing threats of violence at Union Grove Middle School. Patrol deputies, along with School Resource Officers and officials with Blount County Schools began investigating and identified the two individuals responsible for making and posting the threats on social media. Both of those students were instructed not to attend school today.
In a separate investigation, SROs arrested a15-year-old male student at Heritage High School who made a threat to shoot up Heritage High School.
For the past several days, Sheriff’s deputies have taken multiple calls and received information and tips about various threats of mass violence being posted to different social media platforms. Deputies deemed that many of these threats were being posted from out-of-state and by individuals who have no connection to Blount County. Deputies investigated other threats that were rumors that they could not attribute to any individual(s).
Earlier this year, a law took effect in Tennessee that increased the penalty from a Class A Misdemeanor to a Class E felony for any individual charged with threatening to commit an act of mass violence on school property or at a school function. In addition, individuals who KNOW ABOUT A THREAT OF MASS VIOLENCE AND DO NOT REPORT IT CAN BE CHARGED WITH A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR.
“These threats of violence on school property being made by our young people is very serious,” Sheriff Berrong said. “What these students are doing is criminal. It ties up resources and causes a severe disruption in the schools. It isn’t funny and it isn’t cool, and the consequences once the perpetrator is caught can be life-altering for the student and their families. I am begging parents and guardians to keep a close eye on what your child is posting to social media. Monitor the social media platforms they are using. It’s okay to not allow your child privacy on these platforms.”
For your convenience, we have included a copy of Tennessee’s law regarding threats of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity.