MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With the rash of reported school threats in the Memphis area, and across the country, ABC24 wanted to take a look at what kind of punishments a person can face for making those threats.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins said MPD detained and questioned three people in connection to threats made at Whitehaven High School on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, but there’s no word yet about the threats that shut down multiple other schools.
“There are consequences. There are many laws that can be broken during these threats, making these threats. There were a lot of resources as well as all of our law enforcement partners,” said Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner at a press conference on Wednesday.
Attorney John McNeil, who has experience dealing with shootings on school campuses, said if the threats are not found to be credible, then the punishment may be relatively light.
“Now, it would be a much different story if that was a credible threat. If they found out who made the threat and went to their home and found weapons or some other things that indicate to them they were capable of carrying that threat out,” he said.
In that case, McNeil said the suspect could potentially face decades in prison. He also placed great importance on the behavior of parents to make sure their children behave appropriately.
“Pretty much, I would say most teenagers in the area have access to firearms through their parents. So a lot of this on the parents. They need to keep their guns locked up and away from their kids,” he said.
The Tennessee Sheriffs' Association agreed. They put out a statement just a few days before Wednesday’s events, saying in part, "We urge parents to monitor what their child is posting on social media platforms and to talk to them about the seriousness of making or even sharing threatening posts.”
Law enforcement is still actively investigating the sources of the threats across the Memphis area.