Update, 8 p.m.: The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has finished investigating the incident Tuesday at Rossview Elementary School.
The student’s report of seeing a man with a gun inside the school turned out to be a “fabrication,” according to the MCSO.
On Wednesday’s false 911 call about a shooting at Rossview High, MCSO investigators and School Resource Officers have no credible information that the caller was ever at the Rossview campus.
“This false call today is what we classify as ‘swatting,’ which is the action of making a false report of a serious emergency so that law enforcement and public safety resources will respond to a location and wherein the public may experience fear, panic, or disrupted local resources,” MCSO said.
Investigators are working with the TBI and FBI to identify the caller.
Several jurisdictions in Tennessee including Hamblen, Hamilton, Weakly, Jefferson, Davidson counties, Johnson City, as well as, the states of Ohio and Arizona have received “active shooter” style “swatting” calls on Wednesday.
“This office will continue to thoroughly investigate this incident and any report of or threat of violence made against our schools, students, or staff,” said Sheriff John Fuson. “Just as we have with other calls like this, we will find and fully prosecute the person or persons responsible.”
Update, 11:30 a.m.: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is now working with state and federal partners to determine the source of several hoax calls reporting an active shooter at several high schools in the state.
“At this time, none of these reports has proven credible, and there is no known immediate threat to public safety at this time,” the TBI said.
CMCSS relayed the TBI announcement, adding, “We want to remind all families that we take every threat and rumor seriously. Law enforcement and CMCSS will pursue charges and consequences to the fullest extent of the law for any person who makes a threat of school violence. It’s not a joke, and we’re not playing.”
Update, 10:50 a.m.: The 911 call came from someone claiming to be inside the school, telling dispatchers he saw four students being shot in a classroom, according to MCSO.
When the call was received, at 9:27 a.m., two School Resource Officers were inside the school, and there were no indications that an incident was taking place.
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An immediate lockdown was ordered as well as a search, with rapid response from sheriff’s deputies and Clarksville Police officers, MCSO said. The an all-clear was given at 9:42 a.m.
“We shall continue to respond and investigate any call of violence we receive against our school system facilities and infrastructures,” the MCSO statement said. “Unfortunately, ‘active shooter’ calls are faked or ‘spoofed’ to illicit a response from first responders. This is not the first call of this nature we have experienced in this county. We will continue to vigorously investigate this call as we have with prior threats made against our schools.”
Making a false 911 call is a criminal offense, and for a student to make a threat of violence is additionally a mandatory zero-tolerance expulsion offense.
Update, 10:30 a.m.: Classes have resumed at Rossview High, though several parents have arrived to check their students out for the day.
CMCSS spokesman Anthony Johnson told Clarksville Now that additional counselors and law enforcement will be at the school for the remainder of the day.
Update, 10:15 a.m.: School officials said the building has been “fully cleared by law enforcement,” and the lockdown has been lifted. The message to parents said this was a false 911 call, and the call is being investigated.
The message included a reminder that a student making a threat is a zero-tolerance offense with mandatory calendar year expulsion, and it can result in criminal charges.
When a series of school threats happened in the fall of 2021, seven students were criminally charged between the start of school and December that year.
Update, 10 a.m.: Several students are now leaving Rossview High School, and parents are lining up in the pickup line to pick up students.
Previously:
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Someone has reported a gun at Rossview High School, but the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said they believe it’s a false call.
At 9:40 a.m., law enforcement was responding to the report and checking the areas in and around the campus, according to MCSO.
The school sent the following alert to parents: “A 911 call was received that there were shots fired at the school. There are no reports of any shots fired inside the building.” The notice said the school has been placed on lockdown.
No threats have been located, according to MCSO, and law enforcement on the scene said they don’t have any indication that a weapon is there. The school is secure at this time.
The incident comes the day after a student reported seeing an armed man inside Rossview Elementary, on the same campus. That led to a search of the school that found nothing to corroborate the report.
This article will be updated. Christian Brown contributed to this report.