Athens high school targeted in latest social media shooting threat

For the second time in less than a week, a shooting threat against an Athens high school was posted on social media, officials confirmed Monday.

Clarke Central High School was the target of the latest threat “involving allegations of a planned shooting on the school campus,” Clarke County School District spokeswoman Haley Brannan said in an emailed statement.

“Posts were made on various social media outlets of a potential shooting at the school today,” she said. “School administrators and resource officers have worked collaboratively with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department to identify the source of the threat.”

Students told a teacher about the social media posts, the Clarke County School District’s chief of staff, Xernona Thomas, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That teacher then told the principal about the threats.

“When (the principal) was first notified about the posts, she was waiting for school to begin to speak to students to get a deeper understanding of what happened,” Thomas said.

School officials have not identified the source of the threats, but said classes were not interrupted and students and staff were safe.

Last week, a Cedar Shoals High School student was investigated after Athens-Clarke County police received information the student made comments about “coming and shooting up the school,” The AJC previously reported.

“Nothing has been brought to our attention at the district level that there is a connection between the two (threats),” Thomas said.

Security was increased at both schools following notification of the threats.

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