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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

Following the school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia recently, false threats have been shared with several schools around the state, including several in Shelby County.

Helena was the first to deal with it locally this week as the Helena Police Department spent more than 20 hours over a two-day span investigating the threats.

Ultimately, HPD said the alleged threats were fabricated by a student and resulted in fear and misinformation being spread throughout the community.

On Friday, Sept. 13, Calera and Alabaster had to deal with threats that put Calera High School on lockdown and led to an increased police presence at Alabaster City Schools.

Alabaster Schools were never placed on lockdown, correcting an earlier version of our story that did say they were.

At Calera, a screenshot was circulating on Snapchat that showed an anonymous text saying Calera High School would be shot up at 12.

Calera Police and SROs quickly intervened after learning of the social media threat.

“As soon as the threat was received, detectives and additional officers were sent to the high school and our three other schools to ensure everyone’s safety,” said Chief David Hyche in a press release. “We are in contact and working with the school admin and school board. Our first priority is safety of your kids and our next is to hold the individual responsible for this threat accountable. There have been dozens of hoax threats all over Alabama this week, but we treat every threat or rumor seriously.”

Detectives updated around 9 a.m. that they believed it was a screenshot of a 2018 threat that someone reposted. The person responsible for that original threat was already arrested and charged, but Calera is continuing to investigate and will keep additional officers at the school out of an abundance of caution.

Shelby County Schools said they have been working closely with the Calera Police Department regarding the social media threat made to Calera High School that forced them into lockdown.

“This originally appeared to be a direct threat against Calera High School not related to other false threats circulating in other districts,” read the release. “Because of the direct nature of the threat, law enforcement and the school district responded out of an abundance of caution until it was determined it was an old threat that had resurfaced.”

The school release said that in addition to the initial threat, a student heard a rumor of a bomb threat which was also investigated thoroughly and deemed to not be credible.

“At this time, the secured perimeter has been lifted from all of our Calera schools,” read the release.

The Alabaster Police Department relayed a similar threat to schools within Alabaster city limits on Friday morning, saying the threat was very broad and contained limited information.

“The wording was very similar to a threat hoax that has been circulating regarding schools all over the southeast recently,” APD said in a release. “However, as a precaution, in addition to our school resource officers, we will maintain a high police presence at all city schools.”

All schools and police departments in Shelby County will continue to monitor any threats, while school resource officers remain on campuses regularly throughout the day.

Any further information regarding school threats will be shared at Shelbycountyreporter.com.