Juvenile charged after false threat prompts lockdown at East Jessamine High School

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) — A juvenile is facing charges after an unfounded threat led to a district-wide lockdown in Jessamine County Wednesday morning, according to the Nicholasville Police Department.

Police say Jessamine County E911 received a call at 8:35 a.m. reporting an individual with an AK-47 firearm. The call abruptly ended, but dispatchers determined it originated from the campus of East Jessamine High School.

The Nicholasville Police School Resource Officer immediately placed the school on lockdown, according to police. Officers from Nicholasville Police and the Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office arrived at 8:38 a.m. and conducted a thorough search of the building. Police confirmed no immediate danger to students or staff was found.

As a precaution, a district-wide lockdown was also briefly initiated.

The news release says investigators from Nicholasville Police’s Criminal Investigation Division quickly identified the caller, determining the threat was unfounded and made as a “joke.”

Police say the juvenile suspect was taken into custody and charged with Terroristic Threatening in the Second Degree.