Parents, students speak up after social media threat disrupts school

TROY, Tenn. — Obion County Schools and Union City Schools went on lockdown Thursday morning after a threat was posted on social media.

“I feel like kids need to be aware that this isn’t anything to play about and they should really take this serious,” Paige Hicks said about the school shooter threat posted to social media.

Obion County parents were alerted by an all-call message Thursday morning sent out by the school system. It told the parents they were aware of a threat of a possible school shooter. Troy police and Obion County deputies responded to the schools.

“Everybody was called in,” Troy Police Chief Sammy Snead said. “At this point in time we haven’t found anything substantial to those rumors, so the school has been cleared and at this time there is no threat.”

The schools went into a soft lockdown during which students and teachers could move around inside the school and parents could pick up students.

Cars lined the driveway into the school as well as flowed out onto Highway 51 as parents waited to pick up their students.

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News spoke with parents waiting in line at Obion County Central High School waiting to pick up their students.

“It hurts,” Elizabeth Wilson, a mom and aunt to students at the school, said. “It’s wrong and it’s not right. They need to be caught and punished for what they’re doing to our children.”

“I think I’m more mad than anything,” Paige Hicks said.

Students were being called out by walkie talkies as their parents arrived.

Carly Hicks is a freshman at OCCHS and says this didn’t surprise her.

“I’m shook but I’m not shocked,” she said. “Well, I mean it’s been happening, kids playing around and stuff.  It just happened last week. Marshall County, Kentucky. I knew it was gonna come sooner or later.”

Director of Schools Russ Davis says there isn’t a price you can put on safety.

“We will expend every dollar we can and keep the doors open and the electricity on to keep safe,” Davis said.

Davis says they can’t let this impact their normal routine and they will have school Friday on a normal schedule.