PRESS RELEASE (01-17-2024)
MACON COUNTY SCHOOLS
**note** Macon County Schools sent these to Macon Media.
January 17, 2024
MACON COUNTY SCHOOLS
Yesterday afternoon, in a matter of moments, faculty and staff throughout the district secured their classrooms and provided comfort and security to their students while law enforcement mobilized swiftly to secure the campus of MVI. Additional information was received, which resulted in a rapid response of securing the campus of MMS. The events that unfolded could have been a community's greatest nightmare. There is no doubt that students and staff throughout the district will be processing the incidents in the days ahead. Additional mental health support will be provided as needed throughout the district.
I am thankful for the safety and well-being of our school community and for the role that each one of our faculty and staff had in ensuring the protection of our students. I am grateful and proud of the brave men and women in our local law enforcement agencies that answered the call of duty to serve and protect our students, faculty, and staff without hesitation. Josh Lynch
Superintendent of Schools
MACON COUNTY- NC SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Good Morning,
I would like to address the incident that occurred at Mountain View Intermediate yesterday so it is clear and there are no questions. Please be advised that there is some information that I cannot give to the general public at this time, to not compromise the integrity of an ongoing investigation.
In an event like the one that occurred yesterday, our #1 concern is the safety and well-being of the students, teachers, and staff. Multiple responding officers had their own children in the locked classrooms, so we fully empathize with the fear and panic parents felt yesterday. It is at this time that I can offer more information now that we have collected more evidence and are aware of additional facts from yesterday’s incident at MVI.
I want to be clear that there was no hostage situation, no chases through the playground, no gunshots, and no taser deployments. I have seen these accusations posted online and they are false.
The truth is that students probably did hear yelling. Those were our officers communicating in the hallways, and communicating to one another as we cleared classrooms one by one. Students also most likely heard door handles jiggling, as we were opening each door to check the safety of each respective classroom. As we checked each classroom, we announced ourselves as the Sheriff’s Office. This is standard procedure for how a school is secured during a possible active shooter threat. We wanted to ensure that everyone was accounted for and that EVERY child was safe, and we did.
Your child also saw law enforcement officers in SWAT type gear carrying weapons. At the time we entered the building, law enforcement was unclear if there was an active shooter in the building at that time. Unfortunately, guns are a necessity in that moment in order to ensure we were able to protect ourselves and those in the building against a possible threat.
The investigation continues, however, we have discovered that there were 911 calls made from inside Mountain View Intermediate; one of which posed an immediate threat to those inside the school building. There could be several individuals involved with this incident and they will be charged accordingly.
Your local law enforcement agencies take any type of threat against our schools very seriously. Please speak with your children at home about the seriousness of this type of situation. I would like to commend the deputies of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office for a job well done. The citizens and our schools are lucky to have such caring and committed individuals looking after them. I would also like to thank all emergency personnel that responded, lending a hand wherever they were needed.
And last but not least, a job well done by MVI’s teachers, staff, and students. Thank you for remaining calm in a high stress situation and for trusting us with your safety and the safety of the students you love so dearly. Sheriff Brent Holbrooks
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3 comments :
When you find that little snot that called in the 911 call, please do NOT CODDLE them because they are a child. Hold them ACCOUNTABLE TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW and make sure that the other students are aware of those consequences so no other little snot thinks it would be cool to imitate or emulate such foolish behavior. AND take their phone away.
Yes examples need to be made to deter other from such foolishness. An ENTIRE community was disrupted.
With everything going on in this world, how could anyone think it's ok to pull something like this? I hope appropriate action is taken.
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