11-Year-Old Middle School Student Arrested, Charged After Making Threat to Carry Out Shooting at Knoxville School

An 11-year-old male student at Vine Middle Magnet School was arrested and charged on Tuesday evening for the threat of mass violence after he allegedly “made a school shooting threat,” according to the Knoxville Police Department (KPD).

KPD said one of the department’s school resource officers responded to Vine Middle Magnet School to investigate a report that the student had made a school shooting threat.

An 11-year-old student has been charged for threat of mass violence after an investigation into an incident that occurred on Tuesday at Vine Middle School.

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Through a collaborative investigative effort between KPD and the Knox County School Security, KPD Violent Crimes Unit detectives responded to the student’s residence to conduct a home visit.

KPD said no weapons were located during the home visit and that “detectives were told that the student did not have access to weapons.”

The 11-year-old student was taken into custody and charged with making a threat of mass violence on Tuesday evening after KPD consulted with the Knox County District Attorney’s Office.

The student’s identity is being withheld from the public due to his juvenile status.

Vine Middle Magnet School in Knoxville serves grades 6-8 and, as of 2023, had a total enrollment of 440 students. According to data provided by the Tennessee Department of Education, the school’s minority student enrollment is 82 percent.

More than half (55 percent) of all school-enrolled students are classified as “economically disadvantaged.”

Tuesday’s arrest of the 11-year-old came on the same day as the Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) responded to seven other school-related threats, some of which appeared related to another, which resulted in police taking two additional students – one 12-year-old and one 13-year-old – into custody.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said, “Parents, please check on your kids. Know what they’re doing, the games they’re playing, and who they’re interacting with on social media platforms.”

KPD said Tuesday’s arrest of the 11-year-old student at Vine Middle Magnet School was not related to the other school-related threats.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Knoxville Police Department Vehicle” by Knoxville Police Department.