Shooting threat was a hoax, ORHS principal says

Posted at 5:38 pm December 7, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

*Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)*

Note: This story was last updated at 6:10 p.m.

The shooting threat posted on Snapchat on Monday was a hoax, and there was never any malicious intent, Oak Ridge High School Principal Garfield Adams said in an email to families Tuesday evening.

Two students have been identified as being responsible for the threatening statement.

The City of Oak Ridge said the Oak Ridge Police Department has determined no weapons were ever involved, but charges are pending.

The shooting threat led to an hours-long lockdown that was reported to parents at about 11 a.m. Monday.

Parents have asked whether the two students might be expelled. That’s not clear, and Oak Ridge Today asked school administrators about possible expulsion.

“Student discipline information is confidential,” Adams said in an emailed response. “We will assign the appropriate and necessary disciplinary actions.”

In his email to families, Adams thanked the ORPD “for their outstanding level of support and their abundance of caution.”

“We appreciate the patience of our parents and community members as we worked with the ORPD to resolve this incident,” the principal said. “In closing, to discourage future disruptions to student safety and learning, we ask that parents speak with their students regarding the seriousness of making threats regardless of intent.”

The shooting threat was posted less than a week after a mass shooting that killed four students and injured other people at Oxford High School in Michigan on November 30.

In the past few days, at least a few other threats posted on social media have been reported at other high schools in the United States.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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