WCSO: Student in custody Friday afternoon for possible threat against middle school

AUSTIN, Texas - A juvenile was in custody Friday afternoon after a threat was made against Deerpark Middle School in Northwest Austin.

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office reported a student was in custody around 3:47 p.m. after a threat was made to "shoot up" the middle school.

WCSO says no weapons were found on the student and school administration, WCSO and the student's parents were all working together on the case.

"We believe this is an isolated incident and do not believe anyone in danger at this time," WCSO said.

WCSO will also have additional law enforcement at Deerpark MS next week as a precaution.

Deerpark Middle principal Jonathan Smith sent out the following letter to the Deerpark community:

Dear Deerpark Middle School Community,
In an ongoing effort to keep our campus community safe, Deerpark administrative team works diligently and collaboratively with our School Resource Officers to investigate the validity of every reported threat. Today, we received a report that a student made a possible threat against our campus. Our team quickly followed up on the report, visiting with the student in order to determine the validity of the claim. Our findings were that there was no validity to the threat made and that student now faces disciplinary and potentially legal consequences.
We appreciate your help and support in keeping our campus safe and secure. As we continue to strive each day to promote student safety, we ask that you speak with your child about the importance of reporting anything they hear that may impact campus safety to a member of campus staff or an adult.
To be completely transparent and keep parents and guardians fully informed, I wanted to provide these details and assure you that every precaution is in place to protect our students and staff. We will not tolerate any incident that threatens the security of our students and interrupts the educational process.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Respectfully,
Jonathan Smith
Principal