Nashville teen arrested for making threats at Southwind High | News

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – The Shelby County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday evening that it arrested a 15-year-old in Nashville on Wednesday for making threats against Memphis-Shelby County schools, the sixth arrest in the case.

“The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has obtained an arrest warrant for a 15-year-old in connection with multiple threats of mass violence against Southwind High School,” said Sheriff Floyd Bonner.

The threats marked the beginning of what the school board called a “crisis” and ended with the closure of all schools in the district.

Bonner said the teenager was en route from Nashville to the Shelby County Juvenile Justice and Education Center on Thursday night.

It is unclear if the teenager has any connection to Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

“The teenager, who lives in Nashville, reportedly made several threatening phone calls to the school Wednesday morning and posted alarming messages on Instagram expressing his intention to go on a shooting rampage at the school,” Bonner said.

The sheriff's office said the teen was arrested on a warrant for threatening mass violence at a school. He is accused of making “multiple” threatening phone calls to Southwind High School on Wednesday morning and then posting threats on social media.

According to MSCS, the initial threats led to more threats and eventually a district-wide lockdown.

“Over 50 officers were deployed to Southwind,” Bonner said. “We have stopped other things to send officers to the area, and that is the importance we want to convey to the parents and their children. This is a serious matter.”

While Bonner did not describe the threats as a joke, he did say he believed one of the images used on social media was a stock photo.

He said the incident should serve as a reminder that threats of violence, even fabricated ones, are a crime.

Governor Bill Lee echoed this sentiment when he met with local law enforcement officials in Shelby County Thursday morning.

“They are a threat to our children. They are not a threat to the schools, they are a threat to our children,” Lee said. “That's how we have to think about it when we think about what we can do to prevent this.”

Memphis Mayor Paul Young also commented on the threats, saying those responsible would be held accountable for the fear they had caused among the population and the burden they had placed on law enforcement.

“It's not funny. It's not cute,” Young said. “We have children who are scared and terrified because we've seen these tragic events in other places across the country.”

Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins said the Nashville teenager was the sixth arrest in connection with the threats.

According to Feagins, the other five arrests involved three Whitehaven High School students who were taken into custody on campus. The circumstances of the other two arrests are unclear.

Feagins expressed hope that the arrests would send a clear message that this behavior would not be tolerated.

“What it has taken from us emotionally and certainly physically, we can’t get back,” she said.

The governor, mayor, sheriff and superintendent urged parents to talk to their children about the consequences of threats.

FOX13 reached out to Memphis Police about the charges and facts surrounding the five other people arrested in connection with the threats and was told they are currently working to gather the information.