Authorities have identified a Banks County High School student as the person allegedly responsible for a social media threat targeting Johnson High School (JHS) on Wednesday, April 23.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation after a 911 caller reported a threatening post made on Snapchat around 3 p.m. With assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and Snapchat’s internal team, investigators worked swiftly to assess the credibility of the threat and locate the suspect.
By 5:30 p.m., law enforcement had identified a 16-year-old girl as the individual allegedly responsible for the post. Authorities confirmed that the threat — allegedly suggesting a potential shooting at Johnson High School — was not viable.
According to the sheriff’s office, the girl admitted to creating the post in retaliation after a male student at Johnson High allegedly failed to attend prom with her as expected.
The teen has been charged as a juvenile with making a terroristic threat.
Second school threat this week
Wednesday’s incident marks the second time in a week that the Hall County School District has had to deal with a threat at one of its schools.
On Monday, April 21, an apparent swatting incident at Chestatee High School forced that school to go on lockdown. Investigators say someone phoned in a threat from outside the county, indicating explosives had been placed around campus and threatening to harm students and staff as they exited the building.
The high school was on lockdown for approximately two hours as law enforcement searched the school buildings and grounds and determined the threat was not credible.
No arrests have been made in that incident.
