KENTUCKY — Multiple schools went into lockdown Friday morning as law enforcement investigated threats made against them. All campuses were deemed to be safe and classes resumed.

Scott County Schools in central Kentucky reported around 10:45 a.m. Friday morning, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office received a bomb threat originally thought to be specific to Scott County High School. They said students were evacuated. After the campus was determined to be safe, students returned to class.

The school district said Great Crossing High School was also evacuated after it was later determined the bomb threat was not specific to Scott County High School. Around 11:30 a.m., Scott County Schools reported law enforcement had deemed Great Crossing High School safe for re-entry and students were returning to class.

Henry F. Moss Middle School in Bowling Green was also placed on lockdown after the Warren County Sheriff’s Office said it received information regarding a possible threat to the school. It said the school was determined to be safe, and that it was following up on leads pertaining to the threat. 

The incidents come amid a wave of school threats made across the commonwealth. Kentucky State Police Post 14 in Ashland said on Thursday, Sept. 12 it was assisting with recent school threats made in the area. It said it has been working with local school resource officers, police departments and sheriff’s offices with investigations when requested.

KSP did not cite specific threats to schools but said it investigates all reported threats of school violence, “regardless of context or intent.”

The Elizabethtown Police Department reported responding to two different threats this week. On Sept. 11, the department said it had arrested three youths who it said were involved in a threat against the Ohio State School for the Blind. They were charged with terroristic threatening and were being kept in a juvenile detention facility.

EPD said it had been contacted by Ohio Highway Patrol after investigators determined the threatening call was made from an Elizabethtown phone number.

The police department reported earlier in the week it had caught the suspect it said was responsible for a threat made to T.K. Stone Middle School. It said a boy had been arrested within approximately 12 hours of receiving the initial report of the threat. As of Monday evening, Sept. 9, he was arrested and charged with terroristic threatening, and was being held in a juvenile detention facility.

KSP also arrested a 16-year-old male teenager charged with terroristic threatening in Lebanon for a threat to Marion County High School on Sunday night. He is also being held in a juvenile detention facility.

KSP urged parents in a news release to have conversations with their children about the dangers and consequences of posting threatening messages on social media or online. Troopers also asked parents to speak with their children about reporting any concerning information they may discover on social media or online to an adult. They emphasized the importance of ensuring any information reported is accurate and truthful, as false reports can lead to unnecessary fear and confusion.

Under Kentucky state law, threat of violence directed toward a school are terroristic threatening in the first degree, which is a Class C felony that can carry a punishment of up to five to 10 years in prison.