Towns County Schools apologize for late “shooter prank” notification

“An Instagram post was brought to the attention of school authorities at school yesterday, Wednesday, March 6th. The post said ‘Don’t come to school tomorrow. Pew Pew Pew.’  The school turned this over to the authorities immediately,” Dr. Berrong wrote. “The post was said to be a joke, but we do not take social media posts or comments lightly in this day and age and must take any threatening statements seriously. The appropriate consequences have been given to ensure there is no threat at school. The Police are investigating the issue further. We do not feel that there is any threat at this time and want everyone to know that it is safe to be at school. We also want to thank every parent and student who has brought this to our attention. Together we can ensure that Towns County Schools remains one of the safest school in the country.”

FYN contacted Superintendent Berrong after multiple parents raised concern over the incident. Berrong stated that in hindsight, he wished that he had handled the situation differently by contacting parents on the day that the false threat occurred.

The school superintendent said that he didn’t realize how many individuals had seen the student’s Instagram post, and once aware, immediately turned the matter over to the Towns County Sheriff’s Office’s school resource officer. Berrong stated that the student who posted the prank was on campus at the time that Towns County Sheriff’s Office’s school resource officer investigated the matter, determining that danger was not a factor.