Hall County deputies arrested a 13-year-old boy Thursday and charged him with making terroristic threats against North Hall Middle School.
The arrest follows an investigation into allegations the boy threatened to “shoot up the school.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 21, Hall County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call from a concerned parent whose child said a classmate was telling students he intended to bring a bomb to school the next day.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office says investigators obtained consent to search the boy’s home Tuesday evening. They found no evidence of explosives or other weapons at the home. “After further investigation, detectives determined that the 13-year-old male student had not actually mentioned a bomb, but had verbally threatened to shoot up the school,” says sheriff’s spokesperson Derreck Booth.
When they were notified, “School officials immediately removed the student from class and conducted an investigation,” says Hall County School District spokesperson Stan Lewis. Parents of North Hall Middle School students were made aware of the threat through the district’s student information system.
The 13-year-old suspect was charged with one felony count of making terroristic threats. He was arrested on a juvenile complaint and released to the custody of his guardian on Jan. 23.
The boy was suspended from school pending a disciplinary tribunal, Lewis says.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the incident.
This article has been updated to include comments from the Hall County School District
