‘Disaster prevented’ after reported Brownsville Middle School threat
Authorities said a disaster was prevented after a 12-year-old Brownsville Middle School student reportedly made a “credible threat” Thursday afternoon.
The boy allegedly made a shooting threat at school to other students. Other students were discussing it, and a teacher who overheard the conversation reported it to administrators, who in turn called school security and state police, said Superintendent Keith Hartbauer. State police deemed the threat credible and took the child into custody.
“We’re very fortunate that the lines of communication worked well in this situation, which prevented a disaster situation,” he said.
State police determined the threat credible because of information from “forthcoming students,” said State Police Trooper Robert Broadwater. He said they are continuing their investigation.
At this time, “it’s believed that he didn’t have the means to pull this off,” Broadwater said.
Fayette County District Attorney Rich Bower said the student will be charged as a juvenile.
Because the alleged threat was made at the end of the school day, the school was not put on lockdown. It returned to normal operations Friday because the student was taken into custody.
“The communication allowed us to put something in order to prevent any type of chaos,” Hartbauer said. “So the relationship we have between state police, the district attorney’s office and local authorities – those communications were key to this process.”
Police did not identify the child who made the threat, as he is under 18. Authorities did not detail what the threat entailed.
Police stressed that there is “no imminent threat to the community or Brownsville students at this time.”