Student charged after Smyrna High School threat

School resource officers identified and charged a Smyrna High School student today who was accused of threatening the school Tuesday night, an SRO sergeant said.

“The post on Instagram said, ‘Do not come to Smyrna High School today’ with a picture of a loaded magazine” of a gun, said SRO Sgt. Tim Hayes.

Smyrna High School SROs Matt King and Matthew Arrington worked with detectives and identified the student who admitted making the threat, Hayes said.

King charged the 17-year-old student with communicating a mass threat Wednesday morning.

“We take every threat seriously,” Hayes said. “That’s why we have extra SROs at school to make sure the kids are safe.”

The student is scheduled to be in Juvenile Court in March.

Rutherford County Schools expects to expel the student.

“We are grateful for everyone who assisted with the investigation and the swift action of law enforcement to identify and charge the student who made the threat,” said Director of Schools Bill Spurlock. “I am encouraging every parent to talk to their children about the seriousness of making social media threats in the attempt to disrupt school.”

Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said if the investigation rises to prosecution, charges will be filed on the threats.

“We have very dedicated SROs and detectives who treat each one of these seriously and take immediately and swift action to assure our students are safe and no harm will come to them,” Fitzhugh said. “We reassure parents their children are protected.”