McMinn High School students arrested for conspiracy to commit act of terrorism

From Local 3 News: Two students face charges after a possible planned attack on other McMinn High School students on Thursday, February 6.

Sheriff Joe Guy posted to Facebook that he received a phone call from a parent of one of the teens around 10:30pm that evening, who had "discovered something disturbing".

“The parent was very concerned over a video recording he had discovered on a device belonging to his son,” said Sheriff Guy. “The recording was made in November by his son and another student, dressed in masks and making statements that implied their planning of a school-shooting type attack, and naming certain students as possible targets. The parent felt it was his duty to report it as soon as possible.”

He continued:
"Although the video had been made almost three months ago, statements were made regarding a planned attach with firearms, so of course we felt that the situation demanded quick attention. I immediately notified School Safety Supervisor Justin Wallace, McMinn High School SRO Sgt Jeremy Moore, and our local Homeland Security Agent."

Guy says that within the hour, School Safety Supervisor Wallace had spoken with the suspects' parents, and he arranged for them to be suspended beginning on Friday, February 7. They were also scheduled for the students' to undergo threat assessments and evaluations.

Wallace and School Resource Officers and Homeland Security agents worked to begin their investigation by reviewing the video and interviewing both students. More statements and evidence were found on their phones, says Guy.

Prosecutors from the District Attorney General's Office were also consulted regarding criminal charges.

“We are grateful to the parent for notifying law enforcement of the concerning material that prompted our actions and investigation,” said School Safety Supervisor Justin Wallace. “At no point Friday did we believe that our students or staff were in imminent danger, and that is still the case today due to the collaborative efforts of our school administration and law enforcement. School officials have notified the parents of those students who were mentioned as possible targets.”

The students have been charged with conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and are undergoing psychological evaluations and counseling.

The Sheriff says one is already in custody at the Bradley County Juvenile Detention Center, while the other is completing treatment in a mental health facility. He will be transferred after the treatment has finished.

Additionally, both suspects' phones and other devices have been sent to digital forensic for evaluation, and both sets of parents are cooperating in the investigation.
 
Police say the investigation revealed that no one else was involved in the incident. 
Sheriff Guy emphasizes three things that are key to successful intervention: trust, communication, and working together.

He provided the following statement:
“I want to address 2 main points. First, want commend the parent who contacted me. That was a difficult call for him to make, but he knew it was the right thing to do for the safety of everyone involved. The relationships and trust between law enforcement and the public are necessary in situations like this, where open lines of communication allowed for sharing concerns, and this enabled us to intervene quickly.

This was a parent who was paying attention to their child and to their devices. We encourage all parents to pay attention to what their kids are doing, what they are looking at online, and noticing changes in behaviors.
 
Second, the close working relationship that is shared between the Sheriff’s Office, our School Administrators, the DA’s Office, and our Homeland Security Agent allows us to respond as a cooperative team and quickly take actions to ensure the safety of all students, staff, and the public. We all share the same goals: keeping our schools and our educational environment safe.
 
This is an ongoing investigation into a troubling situation, and our prayers are for patience, peace, and safe resolution for everyone involved. And again, we encourage parents to pay attention, and for anyone with knowledge of or information regarding any risk to the safety of our schools or our community to report that information to law enforcement.
 
This situation has been addressed and poses no further risk to our high school or our students.”