police arrest student after threat received

published: April 18 2008 07:35 AM updated:: April 23 2008 01:13 PM

Following an investigation by officers with the Sevierville Police Department (SPD), a 16-year old male Sevier County High School (SCHS) student has been charged with making a threat of violence. The charge is a class D felony.

According to SPD Lt. Ken Garner, law enforcement officials received information that a student had made a threat of violence to take place at Sevier County High School, 1200 Dolly Parton Parkway.

The ensuing investigation led officers’ to the suspect at SCHS this morning, Thursday, April 17, 2008. SPD Officer Shain Burgess, who is the School Resource Officer at SCHS, arrested the juvenile and transported him to the Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center.

The SPD believes the school environment is safe and that any potential incident was averted. Authorities are considering additional charges. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no further information will be released at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is requested to contact Lt. Ken Garner at 865-453-5506.

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User Comments

#1 Here we go Again commented, on April 18, 2008 at 9:20 a.m.:

Hide the facts because it is tourist season. The Sevier County Game. Stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away game. 30 years of being stuck on stupid with Larry Waters, same game. Screw the taxpayers, same game! Nothing new to report!

Situation Normal all Fouled Up. S.N.A.F.U. The Sevier County way of live.

#2 Travis commented, on April 18, 2008 at 11:09 a.m.:

What's going on? Did a child just wake up one day and decide, "Hey! I would like to go to jail after making a felony threat of violence!"

What is the real problem? If the child is ready to crack, what put him that point? What is the leadership at the school doing to fix that problem? Was it other children? Was it a teacher? Was this kid taking driver's ed?

I hope someone can come up with some real answers! I hope to God this wasn't a situation where a kid was blowing off steam/hot air and now his life has a real snag in it because our skin is too thin. I hope this isn't Sevier County trying to kill a housefly with a cannonball!

#3 Bob commented, on April 18, 2008 at 11:10 a.m.:

I hope the kid is alright and that cooler heads prevail.

#4 What a farce! Idiocy at its peak! commented, on April 18, 2008 at 2:20 p.m.:

Here we go again! Says in another paper, that this kid was overheard by other kids the night before saying what he wanted to do at school. Was this gathering of kids at a school related function? Or was it simply a gathering of kids at the local drive in. Says some of kids at this gathering the night before the arrest that occurred on the following day, became alarmed and began to text one another on cell phones and all of this ultimately got back to a faculty member at the school who reported this. Was this kid blowing off steam and the situation was taken out of context? Wonder what exactly would agitate a kid to this extreme? The problems to be fixed here are not external, they are internal. I believe the cannon has been shot to kill a fly...because of ignorance, apathy, and shortsightedness. After the judicial system has its way with this child, will the kid be again punished at school, for disruption? Seems that double jeopardy is their way! This honestly is a symptom of the problem, not the problem! The problem is deeper. Has this kid been recurrently bullied or demeaned by other kids or teaching personnel? Don't kid yourself. This happens recurrently without consequence, as the Lords who sit on the Throne of the Sevier county school board and central office authorities are without a clue! We need better leadership to lead our youth, not Heimrich Himmler, taking someone into juvenile custody for a comment. One is judged by what they DO.....not what they say. I believe those that are proponents of zero tolerance should understand that does not equate with zero common sense!

#5 Bob commented, on April 18, 2008 at 9:28 p.m.:

The current RUMOR is that the child arrested was a child of COLOR. The child was disinterested in PE and was not performing as a motivated athlete. HE was BULLIED and TAUNTED by other children (obviously without intervention). Which makes sense, if a child being hounded is not a member of one of the families who happen to be pillars of the community, then arrest him but DO not correct the behavior in the PE class.

Something is definitely fishy.

#6 Goodgrief commented, on April 19, 2008 at 9:31 a.m.:

How about this, he was a little thug and it isn't the county goverments fault at all. Good God people he made a threat that everyone should take serious and got busted, if he's guilty send him to juvie if not let him go. I can't stand Jack Parton but I don't think he is responsible for this.

#7 Taxpayer commented, on April 19, 2008 at 12:52 p.m.:

Sounds like a Good Ole Boy in training to replace Larry Waters! You folks reap what you sow! Remember that!

#8 Bill commented, on April 19, 2008 at 1:14 p.m.:

I talked with a couple of bagboys at the grocery store who attend Sevier County High School. They said that the boy was a black kid. The threat was a gun/shooting threat according to one of the bagboys. The child was not found with any guns but he was arrested.

I asked: How do you feel about this?

Bagboy: "It was racial! Nothing more!"

So the perception is that some children didn't feel a threat. These two felt it was much of nothing. This still doesn't answer Travises questions.

This may be nothing more than a thug that woke up one day wanting to do violence. At least we took the thug out of school so that children are out of danger.

If the kid was pushed and pushed, WHO did the pushing? How do you propose we keep other children from being pushed by the PUSHER.

#9 Justice commented, on April 20, 2008 at 10:50 p.m.:

Wouldn't it be nice if the County Sheriff, Hoss Seals, was held to the same standard as the school kids - the sheriff assaulted someone in public, then called a citizen that had witnessed the event and threatened that person and his family. Nothing has been done by any police, magistrates, the attorney general or anyone else. Why are you surprised when the local kids follow this type leadership?

#10 Profiling indeed! commented, on April 21, 2008 at 2:13 p.m.:

Kid of color? Just flapped his lips when agitated? But actually DID no harm and no guns or weapons were found? Shall we just arrest everyone who makes noise?
Shall we arrest the Director of Sevier county schools for laziness and malaise in leadership? Or Board members for apathy and missing the real picture? All equates to the same thing!
The problems and solutions are internal nor external! It is an inside job. Officials had better realize this, or something bad is bound to happen. What if someone makes no overt threat and remains silent and then blows? What then? These are issues worth solving before something horrible happens!