Juvenile in custody after allegedly planning a shooting at Bleckley County Middle School

A student is in custody after officials say he “expressed intentions of carrying out a school shooting” at Bleckley County Middle School.

The arrest was made following an investigation involving both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office confirmed they received information on Thursday that a student at Bleckley County Middle School made violent threats against the school. Law enforcement worked to identify the student and shortly after, the male student was located and taken into custody.

The juvenile, who was confirmed to be a student attending the middle school, has not been publicly identified by law enforcement.

No other information was disclosed about the student or the threats made against the school.

Bleckley County Sheriff Daniel Cape responded to the situation on social media Thursday afternoon.

“We believe the actions taken by law enforcement today prevented a potentially devastating act of violence against our children, educators, and community,” Cape wrote. “There is no greater responsibility we have than protecting our children. When information involving a threat to one of our schools is received, we will treat it exactly as it should be treated… seriously, immediately, and with every resource available to us.”

School administration also spoke on the matter via a post on social media, with one official writing, “[W]e were notified by law enforcement of threatening comments allegedly made by a student. Law enforcement immediately began investigating the matter, identified the individual involved, and has taken appropriate action.”

“The safety and security of our students and staff remain our highest priority,” the post continued. “We do not tolerate threats, violence, or any behavior that disrupts the safe learning environment our students deserve. Any report of threatening behavior is taken seriously and investigated thoroughly in partnership with law enforcement.”

While the post stated that no students or staff were ever in danger, they reiterated that threatening comments against the school are “not jokes” and “can result in significant consequences, including criminal charges and school disciplinary action.”

The school confirmed that while privacy laws keep them from identifying any other information about the student, they write that he was met with action from both law enforcement and the school system.

The situation is still under investigation by the sheriff’s office and the FBI.

According to Sheriff Cape, law enforcement will release additional information when doing so won’t interfere with the investigation.