Middle School Student Confesses to Making Social Media Threats


September 23, 2016

The Oak Ridge Police Department (ORPD) was made aware of potential threats of violence against students who attend Jefferson Middle School (JMS) on Friday, September 23. These threats were made over social media platforms.

ORPD Support Services Unit (SSU) personnel were immediately dispatched to safeguard the property while a simultaneous investigation was initiated by ORPD’s Criminal Investigations Division (CID). SSU officers and CID detectives coordinated with Oak Ridge Schools (ORS) staff to interview several students who may have had knowledge of the threats. 

Within three hours of initiation of the investigation, ORPD identified an 11-year-old JMS student who was interviewed and confessed to making the threats. The suspect faces ORS administrative sanctions and investigative reports will be referred to the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office and Anderson County Juvenile Court for further assessment. 

“ORPD will aggressively and immediately investigate any prospective threat of violence or disruption made against Oak Ridge Schools’ facilities and processes,” said ORPD Chief James Akagi. “School staff was instrumental in cooperating with ORPD requests to immediately arrange for interviews of students and parents, which led to such a quick resolution.” 

As the suspect is a juvenile, no further information will be released. Any further inquiries should be referred to school officials.