The Hall County School District is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the anonymous caller who threatened to harm students at Chestatee High School. The school received the threat shortly after 2 p.m. on Monday, April 21, prompting a lockdown and large-scale law enforcement response.
Chestatee High remained on an interior lockdown for approximately two hours as uniformed officers and K-9 units from the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) searched the buildings and school grounds. After the lockdown was lifted around 4:20 p.m., students were allowed to go home.
HCSO investigators are actively working to determine the identity of the anonymous male caller. They say the unknown caller “threatened the lives and safety of Chestatee High School students and staff.” Neither the sheriff’s office nor the school district described the precise nature of the threat.
‘Abundance of caution’
During the incident, school officials released updates telling parents they placed the school on an “interior lockdown” out of an “abundance of caution.” According to the school district, during an interior lockdown, students remain in classrooms or other secure areas inside the building, away from potential danger.
In a statement released late Monday, Hall County School Superintendent Will Schofield announced the reward. He says he’s “incredibly proud of our students, the team at Chestatee, and local law enforcement” for how they handled the situation. He hopes the reward money will encourage anyone with information to come forward and help authorities find and convict the person “responsible for this heinous crime.”
Superintendent Schofield expressed his gratitude to the sheriff’s office for its “quick and thorough response.” He says extra deputies will be on campus Tuesday to ensure staff and student safety.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office says, “Everyone at the school cooperated fully, and no one was injured during today’s operation.”
Schofield asks anyone with information about who is responsible for the threat to contact the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
