Cookeville High School was put on hard lockdown Tuesday morning (8/27/2024) after a student claimed to have a gun.
According to a press release from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 9:40 am, a Cookeville High School 9th grade student in English class, disrupted the class by standing up and saying, “I’ve got a gun in my backpack.” The English teacher immediately pressed her panic button in her classroom which notified the front office personnel, who in turn immediately notified the SRO Deputies of the situation. The student was detained and searched immediately.
The student was arrested and charged with threat of mass violence on a school property and is currently being detained in the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Detention Facility.
At approximately 9:55 am, Cookeville High School removed the lockdown and resumed normal operations.
Sheriff Farris commends the SRO Deputies for running to the threat to detain the student, and the quick actions of the teacher and the administration in the front office for acting quickly and communicating with the SRO Deputies.