Student taken into custody after a ‘potential threat’

School officials and authorities in DeKalb County, Alabama, say a student is in custody after posting messages that triggered a response from law enforcement at Geraldine High School in the south end of the county.

“I want to address a potential threat to Geraldine High School that has been brought to my attention this evening,” school system superintendent Jason Barnett states in a message posted about 1 a.m. EDT Wednesday on his Facebook page.

“Many of you have seen and/or shared some concerning communications regarding text messages and other messages that have been spreading across Facebook, Instagram, [T]witter, etc. regarding a student making what appears to be a potential threat,” Barnett said in the post. “We are aware of this and are working with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that our students are safe on the Geraldine Campus.

“To that end, a student has been taken into, and will remain in, police custody for questioning regarding the student’s decision to send these messages,” he said. “I want to reiterate that student safety is paramount, and we are and will continue to be vigilant in monitoring any and all incidents we believe could possibly pose a threat to our campus.”

Barnett did not respond to a request for additional comment.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office posted a short statement, as well.

“We take threats regarding our schools very seriously,” the post said. “We’d like to reassure parents that all measures will be taken to assure safety in our schools.”

Department spokesman Tyler Pruett said parents notified law enforcement. Pruett characterized the post as an “implied threat of violence,” but he did not elaborate.

The student, 16, on Wednesday was in the custody of Alabama Youth Services.

The student was already suspended from school when the posting incident happened, he said. He remains suspended. No other students are suspects in the incident.

It’s not the first such incident this year.

Several instances were investigated but none were found to be credible, Pruett said. The students involved in those incidents were punished at school but were not criminally charged.