Threats to school systems in the Tri Cities result in arrests

Many school systems around the Tri Cities have added extra police and layers of security after a rash of threats to school systems after the recent school shooting in Georgia. Earlier this week, a juvenile was arrested in Wise county for making a threat to a school. Then, reports of threatening social media posts increased police presence at some Washington County VA schools, and an investigation resulted in another juvenile being charged with making those threats. Hawkins county also reports a person of interest has been located after threatening a school. Carter county also increased security at all of it’s schools after a similar threat. Authorities say most of the threats are not credible, but Police officials and School authorities say they take every threat seriously, and vigorously investigate them. Recent changes to the law in TN have upped the penalties for making such threats, from a misdemeanor to a felony with possible jail time and hefty fines.