Sheriff warns about posting threats on Social Media

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond says when it comes to social media, they take every threat they receive seriously.

He said lately there has been an increase in the number of threats reported to their office.

As kids head into Christmas break and are out of the classroom, he wants parents to keep a closer eye on what their children post on social media.

The District attorney says depending on how severe the threats are, a juvenile could be prosecuted as an adult.

They also say School Resource Officers play a vital role in keeping threats from being carried out.

Deputy Shaun Shepherd explains “The students just have someone they can start developing trust with that they can say hey , this is going on. And quite honestly a lot of the reports they deal with don’t even happen at school at all, they have something to do with home life or the community itself, but they have something they can connect to. They have a face and a name and they have a familiarity different from an officer on the street.”

Deputy Shepherd encourages teachers and students to come forward and say something if they see a threat on social media, or know of someone being bullied.