The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is currently working with state and federal partners to determine the source of several hoax calls, placed to local law enforcement agencies, reporting an active shooter at several high schools in the state.
At this time, none of these reports has proven credible and there is no known immediate threat to public safety at this time.
Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler says they have received these hoax calls and say there is no threat to any Knox County School.
He says the calls are coming out of Texas.
Knoxville Police say they responded to Central High School on an active shooter call. The on-site SRO reported that there was no known emergency the school but officers quickly responded to the scene as a precaution. It was determined that a shooting had not occurred. It is believed that the original 9-1-1 call was a false call that contained info that was not factual & originated from out of state. The origins of the call are under investigation. No known threats at Central High.
WVLT News spoke with law enforcement and school system officials to get a list of the schools affected. According to Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey, schools in Hamblen County, Knox County, Hamilton County and Montgomery County received false calls.
Specifically, WVLT News was able to confirm from officials hoax calls to the following schools:
- Central High School in Knox County
- Jefferson High School in Jefferson County
- Morristown-Hamblen High School West in Hamblen County
