City and County Schools Report Unfounded Threats from Social Media

For the second time in a little over a week, Rutherford County Schools and Murfreesboro City Schools are dealing with "unfounded and unspecific threats" being spread on social media.

Rutherford County Schools

Parents of Rutherford County School students received this:

This is James Evans with Rutherford County Schools, and we want to make you aware of a situation we are monitoring.

Once again, there are unfounded and unspecific threats being spread on social media this morning. We want to assure you that we are aware of them, and we always take these situations seriously and always investigate thoroughly.

However, these threats are not credible and do not mention any of our schools or students specifically.

Unfortunately, school districts around the country are dealing more and more with these types of false threats being made on social media. They are known as “swatting” messages, and they are typically sent in an attempt to disrupt the school day. Our schools are open today, and we are planning to have a full, productive day. Our law enforcement partners will be present, as always.

Please know that your children’s safety is our top priority, and we aim to always to keep you informed in these situations.

REPORTED LAST WEEK:

Rutherford County, TN – There was an unfounded threat at a Rutherford County School on Friday. When the incident occurred, additional Rutherford County Sheriff Deputies responded to the different school locations in the county as a precaution and to further investigate the situation.

James Evans, Communications Director for the County Schools stated, “The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and Rutherford County Schools are aware of unfounded and unspecific threats perpetuating through social media today throughout Tennessee and other states.”

Evans confirmed that the sheriff’s office is monitoring the situation closely. Evans further stated, “...and as a precaution, there is an increased presence of officers and patrols at schools. However, there have been no threats specifically made against our schools or students in Rutherford County.”

Evans went on to say, “Keeping our schools and students safe is always our top priority. We always treat these situations seriously and investigate thoroughly, but there is no evidence these are credible threats.” Parents were notified of the circumstances and according to Evans, “...we want to assure everyone that we are aware of these false threats circulating on social media and we are constantly monitoring the situation. “

Joint News Rrelease by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office and the County Schools:
"The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and Rutherford County Schools are aware of unfounded and unspecific threats perpetuating through social media today throughout Tennessee and other states.

The sheriff’s office is monitoring the situation closely and as a precaution, there is an increased presence of officers and patrols at schools. However, there been no threats specifically against our schools or students in Rutherford County.

Keeping our schools and students safe is always our top priority. We always treat these situations seriously and investigate thoroughly, but there is no evidence these are credible threats.

We are releasing this notice to keep the public and parents informed, and we want to assure everyone that we are aware of these false threats circulating on social media and we are constantly monitoring the situation."

Murfreesboro City Schools

The Murfreesboro Police Department has been made aware of unfounded threats circulating on social media regarding Murfreesboro City Schools.

PIO Larry Flowers said, "Our agency does not believe this is a credible threat, however, we are thoroughly investigating. No specific school was named on the social media post. As always, a School Resource Officer is in every school building, plus, there will be an extra police presence around our school campuses. We take situations like this very seriously."

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