14-year-old student arrested and admits to threatening Allatoona High School via crisis hotline

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A 14-year-old boy was arrested after admitting to threatening Allatoona High School twice this week, leading to its closure, Cobb County police said.

According to police, the unidentified teenager is accused of making terroristic threats, broadcasting a false public alarm and disrupting a public school.

On Tuesday around 11:45 a.m. nationwide 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline contacted Cobb County 911. Operators said someone texted the hotline and claimed he was at the high school with a gun and was planning to harm students.

The threat put the school on a “code red” and caused a “serious alarm,” police said. Officers checked the report and discovered it was a hoax.

Then on Wednesday, the emergency line called again with the same story. According to the police, detectives identified the 14-year-old suspect, who admitted to making the threats during interrogation.

“We are grateful for the quick response by Cobb School Police and local law enforcement in investigating the reported threats this week. “Their efforts confirmed that the threats were false and that our students and staff are safe – our top priority,” a Cobb County School District spokesman said in a statement. “In the months since the terrible event in Barrow County, Cobb schools have been inundated with false threats, false reports of threats and incidents of swatting. The district takes all reports very seriously and will pursue those involved to the fullest extent of the law.”

The incident in Barrow County follows the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School that left four people dead and nine others hospitalized.

In the months since the shooting, school districts across Georgia and the country have had to grapple with it numerous threats of school shootings. Several students were also detained bringing weapons to school.

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