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This morning, Jessamine County 911 received a phone call regarding a subject in possession of an AK-47 firearm

According to a Nicholasville Police Department (NPD) press release, the call was received at 8:35 a.m. and once the call was sourced to East Jessamine High School, Jessamine County Schools Superintendent Sara Crum and Nicholasville Police Department Major Matt Marshall called for a district-wide lockdown. Officers arrived at the scene at 8:38 a.m.

At 10 a.m., the Nicholasville Police Department (NPD) announced on its Facebook page that the threat had been confirmed as a “prank” and that a suspect was currently in custody. 

According to Marshall, after the caller had warned 911 about someone they knew having a firearm, they hung up, and the NPD traced the call. “I decided that we need to lock down every school in the district. In collaboration with the school superintendent, we agreed that was the best course of action. Even though we had the cellphone located at East High, we just wanted to make sure all the schools were safe,” Marshall said. “But the county-wide lockdown was probably 30 minutes. It was completely precautionary, and then as we looked into it, everything was just based around East High, so we focused on that, and finally, a suspect developed.” By 10:30 a.m., according to Jessamine County Schools (JCS), all schools had resumed their normal schedules. 

“Speaking to students, we were able to track it down to who the caller actually was, or who it was rumored to be, and then when we were able to speak with that student, we were able to look at some footage from the bus and review 911 calls, and we were able to identify who they were,” Marshall said. There were also witnesses to the student making this call. 

Marshall told the Journal that the student in custody made the “prank” call. No actual firearm was found. 

Jessamine County Schools posted on its Facebook page, thanking first responders and warning students of the harm of using threats as a joke or prank: “Please remember that there is no such thing as a harmless joke when it comes to safety. JCS takes all threats seriously—whether real or intended as a prank. We’re thankful for the excellent response and swift investigation conducted by the Nicholasville Police Department and for our staff who acted quickly to implement our lockdown protocols and ensure the safety of our students.”

The student who made the phone call was charged with Terroristic Threatening in the second degree. 

In a later press release from Superintendent Crum, she asks for parents and guardians to reach out to schools if your student needs support, as there will be counseling services available for all students tomorrow.