Jefferson Middle School student confesses to making social media threats, ORPD says

An 11-year-old student at Jefferson Middle School confessed to making potential threats of violence on Friday morning, authorities said.

The threats were made over social media and were against students who attend Jefferson Middle School, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

When it learned of the threats, the ORPD Support Services Unit, or SSU, was sent to Jefferson to protect the property while an investigation was started by ORPD’s Criminal Investigations Division, or CID, a press release said. SSU officers and CID detectives coordinated with Oak Ridge Schools staff to interview several students who may have had knowledge of the threats, the press release said.

It said ORPD identified an 11-year-old JMS student who was interviewed and confessed to making the threats within three hours of the start of the investigation.

The suspect faces administrative sanctions by Oak Ridge Schools, and investigative reports will be referred to the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office and Anderson County Juvenile Court for further assessment, the press release said.

“ORPD will aggressively and immediately investigate any prospective threat of violence or disruption made against Oak Ridge Schools’ facilities and processes,” ORPD Chief James Akagi said. “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.”

The suspect is a juvenile, and the ORPD said no further information will be released. Any further inquiries should be referred to school officials, the release said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.