Two students in separate Hamilton County schools were arrested Friday and a third was suspended on charges of threatening students and teachers, capping a weeklong surge of such reports.
A student at East Ridge High School was charged after assaulting and threatening to shoot a teacher Friday morning, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
East Hamilton School in Ooltewah has experienced a slew of threats and dangerous behavior by students.Investigators didn't find the student had access to a weapon, the release stated.
The boy was taken to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Unit and will be charged with simple assault and harassing threats.
A Washington Alternative School student was arrested after a note was found on a hallway floor threatening to shoot the school in general, the majority of teachers and school administrators, the sheriff's office said.
A male student was charged with false reporting and simple assault/threats, the sheriff's office said, and more charges are possible as the investigation continues.
A message scrawled on the wall of the boys bathroom purports to be a threat against Ooltewah High School. "She will be suspended for the rest of the year," said Assistant Principal Stephanie Allen. "And law enforcement has been made aware."
The threatening note mentions an earlier threat Tuesday and says, "We are coming for everybody, nobody is safe."
On Tuesday, about 70 percent of the OHS student body - more than 1,000 students - stayed out of school because of shooting threats found days before. Attendance was reportedly back to normal Wednesday.
Also this week, East Hamilton Middle/High School had two threats, and two teens face criminal charges after one student brought three throwing knives to school and another circulated an altered image of a boy pointing a rifle at students, according to the sheriff's office.
East Ridge Middle School had a bomb threat earlier this week, and a 16-year-old boy at Central High School was taken into custody after he brought a BB gun to school.
Last week, two students were expelled from Signal Mountain Middle/High School for making shooting threats and now face charges in Hamilton County Juvenile Court.
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond said Thursday, "Our young people need to realize the seriousness of committing these kinds of acts, which cause law enforcement to dedicate resources and personnel to matters that are hoaxes perpetrated by students."
Hamilton County Juvenile Court Administrator Sam Mairs previously told the Times Free Press that making false threats is a Class C felony in Tennessee, and can be punished with three to five years in jail and a fine of $10,000.
"At the end of the day, this is more than kids being kids," Mairs said. "[Making threats] is downright criminal."