A 13-year-old male was arrested and charged on Wednesday for the threat of mass violence after he had allegedly “threatened to bring a gun to Ridgedale School and shoot someone,” according to the Knoxville Police Department (KPD).
According to KPD, the 13-year-old was identified and located after allegedly making the threat through a collaborative investigation by KPD Field Operations officers and Investigations Bureau detectives, Knox County School Security, Tennessee Department of Homeland Security investigators, and the Knox County District Attorney’s Office.
Hours after the threat was made, KPD officers and detectives took the 13-year-old suspect into custody at his home on Wednesday night.
The 13-year-old’s identity is being withheld from the public due to his juvenile status.
“We will have zero tolerance for those who make threats of violence towards our schools,” KPD Chief Paul Noel said in a statement. “I am grateful for the quick intervention of our officers and law enforcement partners after being notified of this threat.”
Ridgedale Alternative School in Knoxville serves grades 6-12 and, as of 2023, had a total enrollment of 70 students. The school’s minority student enrollment is 60 percent, according to data provided by the Tennessee Department of Education.
Nearly half (49 percent) of all students enrolled are classified as “economically disadvantaged.”
Wednesday’s threat comes as Knox County Schools is pushing its “Safe Schools, Safe Students” initiative for this year’s school year.
The school district’s initiative includes placing “highly trained, armed security guards” in every school, individualizing school-specific safety plans, and launching a new Text-A-Tip app to allow anonymous reporting of safety information.
Additional security measures the school district is actively working to implement at its schools include the installation of intrusion-resistant window reinforcements, additional perimeter fencing around campuses, and steel-reinforced concrete security bollards.
“We never lose sight of the fact that school safety is essential – for our students and our employees,” said Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Ridgedale School” by Ridgedale School.
