Barrow County investigating bomb threats to schools, lockdown lifted
Site of mass school shooting receives bomb threats
Barrow County schools went into lock down for a few hours Friday as police investigated a series of bomb threats made against multiple campuses. Apalachee High School, the site of a mass school shooting, was one of the institutions targeted.
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. - Authorities say the FBI, GBI and deputies are investigating a series of bomb threats during an alleged swatting attempt at numerous Barrow County schools on Friday morning.
A lockdown that was put in place earlier on Friday morning has been lifted. Authorities say all students and staff are safe.
What we know:
The Barrow County Sheriff's Office says at around 8:20 a.m., a bomb threat was called in to County Line Elementary School.
Within a few minutes, other threats were sent to Yargo Elementary School, Kennedy Elementary School, Winder Elementary School, and Apalachee High School, the site of the shooting that killed two students and two teachers.
Sheriff Jud Smith tells FOX 5's Tyler Fingert that the caller began laughing and using racial slurs after making the threats. The caller then said that they had been "swatted," a term that means when a face report triggers action by law enforcement agencies.
A Barrow County school bus in Winder, Georgia. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Barrow County school officials say that the sheriff's office has sent additional security to each school until the remainder of the day as a precaution. Activities will go on as scheduled.
With the lifting of the lockdown, parents are now able to check out students.
The sheriff's office says that it is collaborating with the FBI, GBI, and GEMA to identify the person responsible for the phone calls.
Dig deeper:
Smith said the person who called in the hoax was "evil" and "ignorant."
"Whoever's doing this is a sick individual," Smith said. "I'm going to throw every resource that I have at it to find out who they are and prosecute them to the fullest."
Sheriff: Person who called in bomb threats a 'sick individual'
Sheriff Jud Smith said he was going ''to throw every resource that I have'' to find out who called in the threats that sent all Barrow County Schools into lockdown.
He said that he had talked with Gov. Brian Kemp and that he was working with federal, state, and local authorities to find out where the calls were coming from.
Investigators say that similar threats have been made to other jurisdictions in recent weeks, but did not share details about where.
What they're saying:
Parents lined up during the lockdown at Barrow County schools. (Courtesy of Change for Chee)
Before the lockdown was lifted, lines of cars parked near Apalachee High School as parents waited for updates.
Barrow County parent Brandi Atwood said her daughter was "scared," saying that it brought up horrible feelings for a community working to get over the fear and sadness of the Apalachee High School shooting.
"When I read the text, I started feeling really hot and had goosebumps all over me," Atwood said.
"It's a mental setback for all these children," she said. "They just want to be done with it and they just keep having to face this horror over and over again."
Layla Renee Contreras, an alumnus of Apalachee High and head of organizing group Change for Chee, said the situation was "eerily similar to what we felt that day."
"It's frustrating, saddening, and I think I'm just angry because how can this keep happening to my community?" Contreras said.
"They're supposed to be having the best last days of their school, and they're having to deal with this," Atwood continued.
"When people make these threats, they need to know that this is not okay and these are our schools, this is our future, and something needs to be done about it," Contreras said.
What you can do:
If you have any information that could help, call the Barrow County Sheriff's Office.
The Source: Information for this story was taken from a post on the Barrow County School System's website.