New Details on Student Arrested for Social Media Threat
"One little comment develops a life of its own and it can literally change the routine of thousands of people that day," said Chief Deputy Allen Branum with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
And that’s exactly what happened at Red Bank High school Thursday after a high school student posted threats on social media.
Officials said within minutes of the post, school resource officers identified, detained, and questioned the student.
The sheriff’s office said every threat is taken seriously.
"You can take identical situations," Branum explained. "One can result in disaster and the other can result in nothing. But we don’t know until we get involved and weigh each situation."
Investigators from the sheriff’s office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Red Bank Police were called in.
Because all these agencies got involved, an online comment became a more serious criminal act.
The student was arrested and charged with false reporting.
"There’s a statute that addresses filing a false police report when you make a threat of an impending bombing or some other emergency and you know it causes law enforcement to respond," said District Attorney Neal Pinkston. "The law recently changed for that and it is a felony."
A Google search of "Twitter threats" pulled up dozens of actual threat offenses that gained police attention.
"Social media is a great thing but it’s also one of the most damaging things that’s ever done individually and as a group," Branum said.
The incident is still under investigation.
The sheriff;s office determined there is no viable threat to the school or community at this time.
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