Hamilton County, TN - Earlier this morning, the SRO and the administration at East Hamilton Middle/High School was made aware of a photograph being circulated by students depicting a young person holding a rifle inside East Hamilton Middle/High School that was being pointed at other students. The image is below.

It was quickly determined the image was not authentic in nature and had been photo-shopped from a Social Media posting. Furthermore it was quickly established that there were no students or faculty in danger.

The HCSO investigated the photograph and found that the party featured in the image had no involvement in the creation or distribution of said image.

Investigators quickly identified the person responsible for creating, posting, and circulating the image. Swift disciplinary action was taken by school administration and criminal charges are pending the conclusion of the investigation.

"Our young people need to realize the seriousness of committing these kinds of acts which causes law enforcement to dedicate resources and personnel to matters that are hoaxes perpetrated by students," stated Sheriff Jim Hammond. "These types of incidents can seriously jeopardize a young person's future, their career choices, and ultimately cause them to end up in jail."

The HCSO would like to remind all students that making threats or posting images that depict students bringing weapons to school or attempting to inflict harm on others while within a school, is not a joke. These types of threats, whether false or legitimate, require local law enforcement agencies to investigate and potential criminal charges can result.

No further information is available at this time and the investigation is ongoing.