Many parents are not letting their children attend school today due to an out of state online bomb threat.  The bomb threat appeared on the Cumberland County School Districts official Facebook page yesterday. Authorities were notified and investigated the threat. After an investigation it was determined the threat was made by an out of state juvenile imitating a local school student online. The threat was deemed not credible. However, Director of Schools Billy Stepp said extra security would be put in place today as students return to school after being out for almost two weeks due to the winter storm. Several parents took to Facebook to express their concern over the threat in spite of the threat being called not credible by authorities.

Below is the official statemenet from Director of Schools Billy Stepp:

Good evening. This is Billy Stepp, the Director of Schools. This evening there were online threats made that did not identify a specific school. Multiple agencies in conjunction with my team, investigated the incident and determined the threats originated from one out-of-state juvenile. This out-of-state juvenile used a profile picture of a current CCS student who was in no way involved with the threatening statements. It has been out of an abundance of caution that these agencies have thoroughly investigated and deemed this threat to be non-credible. Law enforcement have notified out-of-state agencies of the juvenile’s threats for appropriate law enforcement action. Cumberland County Schools would like to thank the public for their posts of concern, reporting of the threats, and immediate response to this situation. Cumberland County Schools would also like to thank Homeland Security, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, and the Crossville Police Department for their diligent investigation in getting to the source of this threat. Even though it is deemed not a credible threat, building principal’s and school resource officers have been notified and extra security measures are being implemented. As always, safety is our number 1 priority.