Precautions taken after CMS student receives ‘vague’ threat via text message Wednesday

A vague “threat” accidentally sent via text message to a Corbin Middle School student Wednesday caused police to take cautionary measures before the start of the school day.

Hannah Goins, a spokesperson for the Corbin Independent School District, said the message was apparently meant for a student in a different local school district. The student that received it notified a school official, who then handed it over to a school district resource officer.

“We had the police check everyone’s bag before they came into the school as a precaution,” Goins said. “We were not under any threat.”

School officials sent out a short message regarding the incident via the school district’s mass notification system Wednesday morning.

Bill Rose, a Corbin Police Officer who works as a resource officer for the school district, is investigating the case. He said the strange message had something to do with recent “creepy clown” sightings in the area.

“To be honest, I think it was just some kids playing around but it had something to do with those clown sightings,” he said. “I think they were going to dress up as clowns and go out and do something.”

“I don’t think any criminal charges will come of it because it was really vague,” he added. “It’s still something we have to look into, though. We jumped on it pretty quick and I was able to track down the number it came from.”

Rose would not say which school district the sender of the text message attends, but did say the person was a juvenile and it would ultimately be “up to Laurel County” authorities whether criminal charges were pursued. He said the person who sent the text admitted to doing so.

Officials say the student that received the text did not know the person who sent it.