2 male juveniles face charges after a possible planned attack on other McMinn High School students was discovered Thursday night.
According to Sheriff Joe Guy, he received a phone call from a parent of one of the juveniles around 1030pm Thursday night, who had discovered something disturbing.
“The parent was very concerned over a video recording he had discovered on a device belonging to his son,” said Sheriff Guy. “The recording was made in November by his son and another student, dressed in masks and making statements that implied their planning of a school-shooting type attack, and naming certain students as possible targets. The parent felt it was his duty to report it as soon as possible.”
“Although the video had been made almost three months ago, we felt that the situation demanded quick attention. I immediately notified School Safety Supervisor Justin Wallace, McMinn High School SRO Sgt Jeremy Moore, and our local Homeland Security Agent.”
Sheriff Guy said that within an hour, Safety Supervisor Wallace had spoken with the suspects’ parents and arranged for the student suspects to be suspended from school beginning on Friday and scheduled them to undergo threat assessments and evaluations. Mr. Wallace, along with School Resource Officers and Homeland Security Agent Matt Blair, worked throughout the day Friday to review the video, interview both suspects, began the investigation and collected evidence. Prosecutors from the District Attorney General’s Office were consulted regarding criminal charges.
“We are grateful to the guardian for notifying law enforcement of the concerning material that prompted our actions and investigation,” said School Safety Supervisor Justin Wallace. “At no point Friday did we believe that our students or staff were in imminent danger, which is still the case today due to the collaborative efforts of our school administration and law enforcement. School officials have notified the parents of those students who were mentioned as possible targets.”
“Our established safety protocols worked effectively and our partnership with law enforcement resulted in a positive and safe outcome. We will continue working alongside Sheriff Guy and our other agencies throughout the investigation and threat assessment process and commend those involved in taking swift actions to ensure the safety of our students and staff of McMinn County Schools. We encourage families and students to remain vigilant and continue reporting any safety concerns through the appropriate channels.”
At press time, both juveniles are charged with Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism, and are undergoing psychological evaluations and counseling. One is already in custody at the Bradley County Juvenile Detention Center, and the other is completing some treatment in a mental health facility and will be transferred to the Juvenile Center upon release from treatment. Their phones and devices have been sent for digital forensic evaluation to see if there is more information that’s related to the planning of the incident. Both sets of parents are cooperating in the investigation.
The investigation has not revealed any other suspects involved in the incident.
Sheriff Joe Guy said trust, communication, and working together were all key in the successful intervention.
“I want to address 2 main points,” said Sheriff Guy. “First, I want to commend the parent who contacted me. That was a difficult call for him to make, but he knew it was the right thing to do for the safety of everyone involved. The relationships and trust between law enforcement and the public are necessary in situations like this, where open lines of communication allowed for sharing concerns, and this enabled us to intervene quickly.
“This was a parent who was paying attention to their child and to their devices. We encourage all parents to pay attention to what their kids are doing, what they are looking at online, and noticing changes in behaviors.”
“Second, the close working relationship that is shared between the Sheriff’s Office, our School Administrators, the DA’s Office, and our Homeland Security Agent allows us to respond as a cooperative team and quickly take actions to ensure the safety of all students, staff, and the public. We all share the same goals: keeping our schools and our educational environment safe.”
“This is an ongoing investigation into a troubling situation, and our prayers are for patience, peace, and a safe resolution for everyone involved. And again, we encourage parents to pay attention, and for anyone with knowledge of or information regarding any risk to the safety of our schools or our community to report that information to law enforcement.”