Police department confirms no threat at Westview High School

MARTIN, Tenn. — Weakley County school officials say there were pages of absentees at Westview High School Friday which they credit to a rumor that got way out of hand.

“The rumor was that this Snapchat contained a list titled ‘the holocaust’ and if a student or faculty member’s name got put on this list, they were in essence, put on a hit list,” said Phillip Fuqua, Assistant Chief of the Martin Police Department.

The police department says after speaking with over 50 parents and students, they have yet to see any evidence of an actual list or Snapchat post, and Assistant Chief Fuqua says, since then, the rumor has even evolved into more.

“We for sure can assure everyone that there was no arrest made at the school at all,” Chief Fuqua said, “but there was for sure not an arrest made at all with anybody with a weapon.”

Police say if these rumors were true, the community would know about it.

“We would have taken evasive action,” said the chief. “We would have shut the school down today. We would have evacuated the school yesterday.”

The Weakley County Director of Schools tells us, at this point they have found no direct threat to anyone regarding this incident. They also say that they take the safety of their students very seriously and would have shared any evidence of danger with parents immediately.”

Police say the rumor and its origin are still under investigation.

“Make sure that the person who started the rumor had no other motive behind it than mischievousness; make sure if that person has some type of issue, than we can help them resolve that,” said Chief Fuqua.

The Martin Police Department says they increased police presence at the high school and middle school as a precaution.

A statement from the police chief says after a thorough investigation was done, it was determined that no threat was made, and the student will not face criminal charges. However, investigators say disciplinary action will be left up to school officials.