15-year-old charged with Terroristic Threats and Acts targeting three Brantley County schools
WAYCROSS — A Ware County teenager has been charged with Terroristic Threats and Acts related to an alleged social media post earlier this month targeting three Brantley County schools, the Ware County Sheriff’s Office said Monday in a news release.
The 15-year-old male was taken into custody Wednesday, September 11 by WCSO detectives and deputies at his residence in the Jamestown area of the county without incident. He was remanded into the custody of an area Regional Youth Detention Center where he remained Monday, September 16.
Brantley County placed the schools on lockdown Friday after the post surfaced.
“It is truly sad that, as a community, we have to deal with these type of threats, which have caused so much anxiety within the public,” Ware County Sheriff Carl James said in a press release. “These juveniles really need to understand this is not a game and to use social media responsibly. I would also like to thank both the Ware and Brantley County School Police for their assistance in this case.”
Ware County Patrol Division Deputy Hunter Thomas received information September 11 from Brantley County School System SRO Chief Eldon Crews concerning a post from a social media website threatening in nature toward the Brantley County schools, the release said.
The juvenile allegedly making the threats via social media was ultimately found to reside in the Jamestown area. The Ware County Schools police were also able to assist in the investigation.
The WCSO investigation was led by CID Det. Sgt. Clay Carter and Det. Kyle Strickland, who located the teen and later charged him in the Ware County Juvenile Court.
The alleged social media threat was among dozens which targeted Georgia schools and others in surrounding states in the days following the mass shooting at Appalachee High School in Winder, Ga. Four people were killed and nine people were wounded in that incident.
Colt Gray, a 15-year-old Appalachee student, has been arrested and charged in connection to the shooting.
