A student has been taken into custody after a bomb threat closed Oakland High School.
Officials with the school in Rutherford County said the threat was received by phone on Friday morning.
School representatives said they felt they had no choice but to close on Friday instead of having the students stay outside for what could possibly be several hours.
Reports from the school just after 10 a.m. stated school resource officers had a student in custody. The threat remained under investigation by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials with the high school sent the following message to parents Friday morning:
“This is James Evans with Rutherford County Schools. We want to let you know we are closing Oakland High School today because someone has called in a bomb threat to the school. The sheriff’s office is investigating the phone call but rather than have students held outside for possibly several hours, we have no choice but to close the school today. The closing only affects Oakland High School. School buses are returning students to their homes.
Again Oakland High School will be closed today, Friday, October 27.
We appreciate your patience with this situation.”
School officials added the sheriff confirmed the threat was not related to the planned rally set to be held this weekend on the square in Murfreesboro.
After the student was taken into custody, Oakland High School parents received the following message from school officials:
"This is James Evans again with Rutherford County Schools and we have an important update for you regarding the bomb threat at Oakland High School this morning.
The school resource officers have a student suspect from Oakland in custody for allegedly making the bomb threat this morning, and he has been charged with making a false report, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh says the bomb threat had nothing to do with the planned rally this weekend on the Murfreesboro Square.
I know this morning was frustrating for parents because the school had to be closed so suddenly. We share your frustration when these situations occur. The Oakland High School administrators and staff members did an excellent job this morning in dealing with a very difficult situation that was unfolding just as the day was beginning.
We also want to thank parents for their patience and understanding as we addressed the situation, and we look forward to getting back to normal operations Monday morning. I hope you have a great weekend with your family."
