PUTNAM COUNTY, TN – At approximately 11:00 AM, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office School
Resource Officers received a report of a text message threat made against Algood Middle School. A student at Algood Middle School allegedly threatened to harm people at school. The student had sent text messages and pictures of a weapon to a friend who attends Prescott Middle School. In the text messages, the student threatened to harm people at Algood Middle School. The student’s friend
immediately reported the threat to a school administrator who then alerted their School Resource Officer Brandon Masters. Deputy Masters, Deputy Matthew McDaniel and Sergeant Steve Elrod took immediate action to confirm the information, secure any potential threat and ensure the students andfaculty were not in imminent danger. They searched the school and the student’s belongings and found no weapons or immediate threats. Through the initial investigation process it was discovered that a second Algood Middle School student was involved in the same threat. That student has also been secured and those belongings were searched. No weapons or threats were found in the second student’s belongings. Sheriff Eddie Farris is proud of the hard work of the county’s new and existing SROs, but stresses again the importance of community involvement in situations like this.
“This is a great example of our community working together to keep our schools safe. Our School Resource Officers are in constant communication with school administrators and students,” says Sheriff Farris.
Both Algood Middle School students are charged with one count of making a terroristic threat, and they are being held at the Putnam County Juvenile Detention Center.
No further information is available regarding this ongoing investigation.