From The Bell County Sheriff's Department -
At approximately 12:30pm on Friday, August 30, 2019, Bell County Dispatch received a call of a possible threat against Page School Center. The first officer on scene after leaving Bell County High School was SRO Deputy Wade Barnett who requested assistance from Bell County Sheriff Mitch Williams, Chief Deputy Doug Jordan, and Deputy Max Graves. Deputy Barnett also requested assistance from any available Kentucky State Police units were Kentucky State Trooper Keith Baker, KSP Investigator Aaron Frederick, and KY Fish and Wildlife Officer Blaine Greene.
The school was placed on lockdown status and a sweep of the facility was conducted by those responding. At approximately 1:30pm the school was cleared for any threats and then placed into soft-lockdown status as a continued precaution.
During the Page School Center investigation Bell County Deputy Max Graves was contacted by Bell County High School truancy officer Chris Warren who reported an unrelated threat against the high school. The facility was then placed into temporary lockdown status. SRO Barnett was advised to remain at Page School to continue the investigation.
Upon further investigation at Bell County High School, a male juvenile was taken into custody and charged with terroristic threatening for making the threat toward the school and other individuals.
Sheriff Mitch Williams reminds the public of the no-tolerance policy for communicating threats toward a school system. The sheriff’s department works in tandem with the court system to fully prosecute anyone threatening the safety of students, teachers, or staff.
The juvenile was transported to the Breathitt County Juvenile Detention Facility.
We have updated this information in conjunction with an update from the BCSO that stated: "This release has been updated on 8-31-19 to more accurately reflect those that assisted with the reported incidents. The Bell County Sheriff's Department is grateful for the mutual aid provided by those responding."