NOTTOWAY COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Nottoway County Public Schools took action over the weekend after a student made a social media post with a threatening message and a photo of a weapon.
Around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, school division staff members notified the Nottoway County Sheriff’s Office of threatening images that were circulating on Instagram and Facebook.
Deputies began an investigation and traced the social media posts to a phone that belonged to an adult. Once the adult was contacted, deputies found the phone to be in the possession of a juvenile student.
Deputies visited the home of the student who made the post. According to authorities, the photo posted by the student was determined to be a Google image and the student did not have access to a weapon.
According to Tameshia Grimes, Superintendent for the division, the student now faces disciplinary action.
“We understand that an incident like this can cause significant anxiety,” Grimes said in a statement. “The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority, and we will always take the steps necessary to maintain a safe and secure learning environment. We encourage students to continue to speak up if they see or hear anything that could represent a potential threat to school safety.”
Earlier in the week, on Monday, May 8, three schools in Nottoway County were placed on lockdown due to a reported threat. Within a couple of hours, the threat was determined to not be credible and the lockdown was lifted.
Authorities assured the community that there is no credible threat and schools are safe. There will be an increased police presence at Nottoway County Public Schools on Monday, May 15, as a precautionary measure.
