Carter County and Elizabethton City schools went into a lockdown Tuesday around lunchtime after police discovered a threat to local schools on social media.
Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford said a specific threat was made against Cloudland, Happy Valley and Elizabethton High Schools on the popular social media app “After School.” The post on the social media app said at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 an armed subject would go to each of the three named schools and begin shooting, Lunceford said.
“I actually looked at the post,” Lunceford said.
The Sheriff’s Office notified officials with both the Carter County Schools and Elizabethton City Schools regarding the threat around 11:30 a.m. after discovering the post.
“We put the county schools on lockdown and sent extra officers to the schools mentioned,” Lunceford said.
Carter County Director of Schools Dr. Kevin Ward said all of the schools in the county were placed on a “soft lockdown” as a precaution even though only two county schools were specifically named in the threat. During a soft lockdown, Ward said school staff secure the perimeter and bring any students in modular classrooms inside the main building. No one enters or exits the school during a soft lockdown but students and staff are free to move around within the building, he said.
Elizabethton City Schools were closed for a teacher in-service on Tuesday so no students were present. Even though school was not in session for students, once the call came in from the county, Director of Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour said the school went into a soft lockdown of its own for the safety of teachers and others inside the building.
“Basically, the county contacted us that they had received a threat from an app that was supposed to happen at 12:30,” Gardenhour said. “Today wasn’t a regular school day but teachers were at the school. The Elizabethton Police Department increased patrols around the school.”
Gardenhour added the school system wanted to take the necessary precautions, like in any other situation, when a threat occurs at one of the schools within the system.
Elizabethton Police Department Chief Jason Shaw said officers and investigators with his department checked the city schools and other locations after being notified of the threat. Shaw said his department is assisting the Sheriff’s Office in their investigation regarding the threat.
The Sheriff’s Office and the Elizabethton Police Department investigated the threat and gave county schools the clearance to lift the lockdown around 1:10 p.m., Ward said.
Lunceford said his officers found no evidence of a legitimate threat at any of the schools but added investigators are in the process of tracking down the individual who originally posted the threat to the social media app.
“If we find out who made the threat they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, I can promise you that,” Lunceford said.
Ward commended the work of the Sheriff’s Office in getting the word out to the schools quickly and in helping to secure the schools. He also praised the work of the 14 School Resource Officers — Sheriff’s deputies who work inside the schools — in keeping the students and staff safe.
While the lockdown of all the county’s schools was a precautionary measure in order to insure the safety of the students and staff, Ward said lockdowns can prove to be very stressful for everyone involved.
“It disrupts the whole school day and puts everyone’s nerves on end,” Ward said. “The families, students and staff are all worried.”
Ward is encouraging anyone who has any information regarding the threat against the schools on Tuesday or any similar incidents to contact law enforcement and report what they know.
“With social media and all these different apps it can make it difficult to trace back threats,” Ward said. “What we rely on is confidential information. They are probably going to talk or say something.”
Lunceford also encouraged anyone with information to contact his department at 423-542-1845. Tips can also be submitted through the Sheriff’s Office website at www.sheriff.cc/contacts/crime-tip/. All tips can be made anonymously.