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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

The Chilton County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a suspicious message that was sent to a student at Verbena High School on Sept. 11, but after investigation, officers deemed the threat to be noncredible.

The student at VHS received a suspicious text from a texting app in the early afternoon hours that made a threat towards students at the school. The student reported it to law enforcement, and officers acted quickly to launch an investigation into the threat. The school was placed under a soft lockdown as the investigation took place.

“The safety of our students and faculty is our top priority, and we are taking all necessary measures to ensure optimal security within our environment,” the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page said in an update at 2:27 p.m.

At 2:59 p.m., another update was posted to the Facebook page that insured the safety of all students and the threat was not a credible one. Chilton County Sheriff John Shearon confirmed that the situation was under control as of 3:17 p.m.

“We thoroughly investigated the recent threat, and after comprehensive review, we determined it is noncredible,” the post said. “We take all threats seriously, and thank everyone involved for their quick response and dedication to keeping the students and faculty safe.”

The threat comes just days after other threats of violence were made at a handful of high schools throughout the state of Alabama.

Chilton County Schools were placed under a soft lockdown to start the school day on Sept. 13 as well as officers investigated more threats that surfaced. Shearon said the threats on Sept. 13 were from the same app and posts that sparked the lockdown at VHS on Sept. 11. Schools were released from the soft lockdown at around 9:45 a.m. Shearon said the threats were not thought to be credible, but not chances will be taken when it comes to the safety of students.