School system to quiz teacher

The Hamilton County Department of Education announced Monday that it will begin its investigation today of a Sequoyah High School teacher who is accused of holding nine teenagers at gunpoint Saturday night.

Stacy Swallows, a 45-year-old diesel mechanics teacher at the school, blocked the path of the teens with his vehicle as they were leaving Shipley Cemetery in Sale Creek, showed them that he was armed and waited for police to arrive, authorities said. Swallows lives near the cemetery at 920 Shipley Cemetery Road.

Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to the area at 10:42 p.m. Saturday on a report of shots fired.

Deputies did not find any weapons on the teenagers, and it was unclear if shots were ever fired, said Janice Atkinson, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. She said she was unaware who made the shots fired call.

While deputies were en route, Swallows called authorities to notify them that he was holding the teenagers until police arrived, Atkinson said. Swallows was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, she added.

The teenagers, who ranged in age from 16 to 19, told police they had come to the cemetery to go ghost hunting.

"Of course, [Swallows is] innocent until proven guilty," said Jim Scales, Hamilton County Schools superintendent.

Swallows remained in the Hamilton County Jail on Monday on a $180,000 bond on nine counts of false imprisonment and nine counts of aggravated assault. His court date is set for Sept. 15.

"On the surface, this could have been a situation where something was well intended," Scales said, referring to Swallows possibly believing that the teens were trespassing or vandalizing property. "But it certainly went awry."

Hamilton County Board of Education member Rhonda Thurman, whose district includes Sequoyah High, said it's not uncommon for people in her district to confront trespassers.

"In a place like where we live [in Soddy-Daisy], for people to defend their property, that's just commonplace," she said. "I'm going to have to hear the rest of the story before I will really know how to feel about this."

Scales said Swallows will be required to report to Hamilton County Schools' Central Office upon his release from jail.

"We're not going to make any assumptions right now or make any decisions," Scales said. "We just have to visit with our employee, let him explain to us what took place and then go from there."

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