Student accused of threatening to ‘shoot up’ at Burke County Middle

A male student was arrested last week after allegedly making terroristic threats to a Burke County high school.

On Wednesday around 4 p.m., the principal of Burke County Middle School discovered three “alarming” emails sent to the school’s official account from a seventh-grade student, containing explicit threats and statements indicating the student’s intent to “blow up and shoot up the school.” according to a Thursday press release from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the statement, the principal immediately notified the school’s deputy principal, who arrived at the student’s home. The student still kept the threatening messages in the Sent folder on his Gmail account.

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According to the statement, the student was detained and charged with terroristic threats and activities, as well as disturbing order in a public school. He was placed in the District Youth Detention Center pending further court proceedings.

“The safety and well-being of students and staff remain the highest priority for the school and law enforcement,” according to the sheriff’s office. “We take any threat to the school community extremely seriously and are working closely with the school system to ensure all necessary precautions are in place.”