Hamblen County, TN (WOKI) A Hamblen County student has been charged after allegedly threatening to “shoot up the school” on the first full-day of classes.

The Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office says a School Resource Officer was told that a student made the threats to acquaintances on Tuesday, August 2.

The investigator on the case said they went into action immediately, interviewing the student who said the threat had been made but “it was a joke.”

That student has been charged with Threatening Mass Violence at a School.

“The Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office and the Hamblen County Board of Education are adamant that all threats will be taken seriously,” Sheriff Chad Mullins stressed. “Parents need to let their students know threats are not jokes and anyone making any type of threat towards a school or another individual will be charged accordingly. We stand firm on this.”

A media release from the sheriff’s office did not state at which of the district’s 18 schools the threat was targeted.