Possible Threat Issued At ECHS: Law Enforcement, Administration Says "Not Believed To Be Credible"

Edmonson Voice Staff
Concerns for what appeared to be some sort of threat at Edmonson County High School today had students, parents, and school officials on alert. According to Principal Tommy Hodges, something "inappropriate" was written on a bathroom wall that a few students mistook for a school-wide threat.

Hodges said rumors began to spread around the school and various social media accounts, causing disruption at school. "The rumors being spread weren't even close to what was actually written on the wall," Hodges said. "We're going to protect our school just like we do everyday. Our Resource Officer Jeff Brooks will be there, KSP Trooper Terry Alexander will be there, and I'll be patrolling the halls, but there's simply no validity to these rumors."

The Sheriff's Office released this statement just moments ago:
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"On Thursday, November 5th, 2015, the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office was made aware of a possible threat written on the wall of a bathroom at the high school.  Our School Resource Officer, Chief Deputy Jeff Brooks, initiated an investigation to determine the source of the graffiti, as well as who was spreading the information around the school.  As is often the case, the information began getting changed and conflated, and eventually was blown into something much larger than it actually was.  The school officials, in conjunction with the school resource officer, were able to track down the source of the rumor-spreading, and law enforcement has a suspect for the vandalism."

Sheriff Shane Doyle, along with Brownsville Police Chief Jeff Jewell, is coordinating with the School Resource Officer to provide more security at the school. "Although we take all potential threats seriously, the information is not believed to be credible, and law enforcement is actively investigating the matter tonight," Doyle said. "Should any further information come to light that provides any information to the contrary, the Sheriff's Office will release a statement immediately to inform the public."

Principal Hodges said safety of the students is always the top priority, but through a joint effort, this incident doesn't seem to have merit. "I'd have the National Guard out here in the morning if that's what we needed to keep our kids safe, but we simply don't feel like that's the case," he said. "School's going to be a normal day tomorrow. We'll have the people we need there, but tomorrow's school day will proceed as normal."

UPDATE: The Sheriff's office informed us that one of the suspects of the apparent threat was being interviewed at press time.

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