Student arrested after Alabama school goes on lockdown from false threat

Published 6:19 am Tuesday, April 20, 2021

A student at Chelsea High School is in custody after falsely reporting a threat on Monday, April 19.

At approximately 12:45 p.m., there was a report of a potential threat at Chelsea High School.  At that time, the school immediately followed safety protocols, and went into lockdown for approximately 30 minutes before resuming normal operations.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputy assigned to the school was on scene at the time of the possible threat, and other Sheriff’s Office personnel quickly responded to assist in the investigation.

The investigation revealed that a student had reported false information that created the concern for the safety of the students.

“The Sheriff’s Office takes the safety and security of our Shelby County Schools seriously,” said Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego. “I am thankful for the partnerships that we have with Chelsea High School and the Shelby County Board of Education.  Through these partnerships, we were able to quickly assess the potential threat and locate the person involved in creating the false alarm.”

Deputies said they have the student in custody and plan to file charges in juvenile court for falsely reporting to law enforcement.

It is unclear what the falsely-reported threat was at this time.