CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Following the series of threats directed toward and circulating among Clarksville-Montgomery County schools, Sheriff John Fuson released this statement directed toward the community on Friday.
“Over the past week, Montgomery County has experienced a substantial increase in threats of school violence. Our local law enforcement agencies have responded quickly and have followed up with an increase in the law enforcement presence at our schools while continuing to conduct investigations on these threats.
“However, none of the school threats reported this week had any validity to them. The threats to the schools on the Rossview campus were found to be false, with no actual threat identified. The threats shared over social media were investigated and found to be non-credible. In some cases, it was found that the images shared were not recent, nor did they specify a specific location for the threat. Some of these images were found to be shared in other states across the nation. Other investigations revealed that images that were shared were old or originated in other cities, although the school acronym was the same as our own schools.
“It is important that images of social media threats are not shared across communities. The sharing of screen captures of social media-based threats can cause an increase in panic across our community and make it more difficult for law enforcement to investigate because it makes it more difficult to pinpoint the origins of the image. We request that any concerns regarding social media threats or texts should be reported to law enforcement. You may do so by submitting a tip through our website at www.mcsotn.org and using the School Threat Form. You may also submit a tip through the MoCoInfo App using the Submit a Tip feature.
“These threats via phone and the internet, commonly referred to as ‘swatting,’ have proven to be a detriment to the day-to-day operations of our schools as well as creating a state of panic in our community. Swatting references the action of making a false report of a serious emergency so that law enforcement and public safety resources will respond to a location wherein the public may experience fear, panic or disrupted local resources. We can all help to avoid feeding into the panic by refraining from sharing and posting these threats on public platforms, especially while it is still being investigated.
“Our law enforcement officers will remain ever vigilant in the safety and protection of the children in our schools, after all, they are our kids too.”