Police have arrested a juvenile as the result of a bomb threat received by Laurel Park Middle School Friday morning.
The Henry County Sheriff's Office said it throughly investigated the threat that had been conveyed via social media and, when confronted, the juvenile confessed to perpetrating what was described as a hoax that was "never a threat to the students," a release stated.
The juvenile was charged with threats to bomb or burn and incarcerated in the W.W. Moore Detention Facility in Danville.
The Sheriff's Office stated that the recipient of the social media message reported it to authorities, but did not make clear whether it was the school, another student, or someone else.
In a notification sent to parents at 9:50 a.m. Friday, Principal Katrina Perry encouraged parents to talk with their children about the "seriousness of threats and the importance of reporting suspicious activities, threats or disturbing information to a trusted adult. Please remind them that if they become aware of a concern, their first response should not be to spread rumors, but rather to alert school administration and/or the school resource officer so that it can be dealt with quickly. The goal of Laurel Park Middle School’s staff is to foster an atmosphere where students feel free to come to us if they become aware of a threat to student safety."
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Police asked if anyone has any additional information related to the incident to contact the Henry County Sheriff's Office at 276-638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 276-632-7463. The Crimestoppers Program offers rewards up to $2,500 for information related to the crime depending upon the substance of the information and the amount of the reward.
