Middle Tennessee Student Charged With Making Online Threat Toward School

A teenage student is facing charges and expulsion after reportedly threatening violence against a Middle Tennessee school.

According to WKRN, school resource officers at Smyrna High School arrested a 17-year-old student for posting a threat to Instagram on Tuesday (February 15) night. Authorities said the post included a photo of a loaded magazine of a gun that was captioned, "Do not come to Smyrna High School today."

Authorities quickly worked to identify the person who posted the online threat, eventually speaking with the teen who admitted to the post. The teen, whose name has not been released, was charged Wednesday with communicating a mass threat. Additionally, the student is likely going to be expelled.

Following news that the teen was taken into custody, Director of Schools Bill Spurlock praised law enforcement's quick actions while offering a warning to parents.

"We are grateful for everyone who assisted with the investigation and the swift action of law enforcement to identify and charge the student who made the threat," said Spurlock. "I am encouraging every parent to talk to their children about the seriousness of making social media threats in the attempt to disrupt school."

Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh thanked the school's SROs for their assistance in the investigation and added that additional charges could be filed against the teen if the case is prosecuted.

"We have very dedicated SROs and detectives who treat each one of these seriously and take [immediate] and swift action to assure our students are safe and no harm will come to them," he said. "We reassure their children are protected."

Wednesday's arrest is the latest in a string of incidents where students have reportedly made threats online toward mid-state schools., including one case at another school in Rutherford County just last month.