More information has become available on an incident that led to the arrest of a Jacksonville Middle School student after a purported gun threat.
According to a press release by the Jacksonville Police Department late Friday, the department’s Investigative Division was made aware of a complaint of a student possessing a firearm.
After an investigation by the JMS School Resource Officer and detectives found that a 13-year-old juvenile had told several individuals at the school they had possession of a firearm.
According to the report the incident happened near the end of classes and outside of the school building on Thursday. Investigators say after interviewing all parties involved they were able to confirm that no weapon was ever displayed or seen and that the 13-year-old juvenile did not possess a firearm at the time of the incident, nor were firearms accessible at the juvenile’s home.
In a statement released late Thursday, Jacksonville School Superintendent Steve Ptacek said that a second student had shared rumors that he had seen the gun, however after being questioned by authorities he recanted and said he had not seen any weapon.
Ptacek said the district is considering the incident involving the second student as an active attempt to disrupt school and that the student would receive discipline for the incident.
The 13-year-old juvenile who purported to be in possession of the firearm was subsequently arrested for disorderly conduct and was later released to the custody of a family member. Police officials say the matter has been turned over to the Morgan County State’s Attorney and Morgan County Juvenile Probation Department.
The Jacksonville Police Department also confirmed that one day earlier on Wednesday, they were made aware of multiple online threats being shared across multiple social media platforms of threats to both Jacksonville Middle School and Jacksonville High School.
They say shortly after the threats were reported, detectives and the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center (STIC) were able to deem the threats not credible, and that the online threats that were reported on Wednesday were unrelated to the arrest of the 13-year-old juvenile for disorderly conduct.
Investigators went on to say the Jacksonville Police Department is continuing to work with District 117 officials to ensure the safety and security of all students and faculty. They are encouraging anyone with information regarding online or in-person threats to report them immediately.
According to Ptacek on Thursday, JMS administrators were set to visit each classroom on Friday to address students and staff about the Thursday incident and review a proper and standard operating procedure for dealing with valid threats at the school.