WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Unsubstantiated school threats this week are creating a social media firestorm in Wilson County.
Some parents are now asking why they didn’t receive communication from the school district sooner or at all.
From school lockdowns to evacuations, to even an arrest of an 8th grade middle school student, the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office responded to over five schools with a potential threat this week alone.
“It's terrifying to know in my brain that it's not an if its when’s the actual day going to happen where this is a credible thing?” LeeAnn Kimbrel said.
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Kimbrel said her daughter stayed home from school Friday after Mt. Juliet High School went into a soft lockdown on Thursday when someone thought they overheard comments of a threat.
“As a parent, my main concern is the lack of communication. I’m hearing from my kid at noon and don’t hear from the school until 2:45,” Kimbrel said.
“Parents will be notified as soon as possible once what is going on inside is handled. Everyone is safe,” Bart Barker, Public Information Officer for Wilson County Schools said.
Barker said law enforcement is immediately notified in scenarios like this with a school resource officer (SRO) already in every school. However, he said it takes time to investigate what really happened.
“Differentiating between rumor and threat that takes a period of diagnosis to figure out what exactly is going on and deliver that information to families,” Barker said.
He said principals will often notify families and in some cases work with Barker on the best communication practice.
While this week was riddled with unsubstantiated threats, he said if something is serious, information will get to families much faster. "If your school is in an intense situation that is an emergency situation actively helping, that communication is going to come from so many angles."
Barker also said in most cases just the schools affected will be notified and, on some occasions, neighboring schools.
“It has given us something to think about in terms of proximity to schools. If one school receives a threat should a nearby school that wasn't mentioned in the threat receive the same notification? But also, you don’t want to cause more widespread anxiety which is already going to be an anxious moment,” Barker said.
