Rumored threats made by a student to carry out an attack at the local school were taken seriously by local authorities who moved in to ensure schools were safe this past Friday.

“Around 6 p.m., Feb. 22 the school resource officer at the high school contacted me and advised me he had a concerned parent call him. The parent said their child had overheard a student make a threat to the DeKalb County High School,” revealed Sheriff Patrick Ray,  noting he put detectives on the case.

“Through an investigation, the detective and school resource officer found out a 17-year-old DeKalb County High School student made a comment that was interpreted as a threat to the school,” Ray said, adding officers talked to the youth who denied making the statement. “Both of them interviewed the student and the student said he did not make the comment.”

The investigators also talked to a teacher who was present at the time the comment was supposedly made. The teacher confirmed the student never said anything about harming the school.

“After our investigation started, there were multiple posts going around on social media that were incorrect and causing a panic,” he said of rumors that were spread throughout the community as if they were fact.

The heightened concern prompted the sheriff’s office to assign extra deputies this past Friday at some area schools.