Southwind High School in Memphis on lockdown after threats someone planned to ‘shoot up’ building

Multiple high schools in the Memphis area have been put on lockdown following social media threats, per officials.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said someone contacted Southwind High School at about 7.20am threatening a shooting on Wednesday.

Ridgeway high school then received a threat at about 10am and was also placed on lockdown. 

Craigmont high, Overton high and Germantown high are also currently on lockdown following threats.

The Memphis police department told Fox 13 many of the threats came from overseas and from chatbots.

Police presence at Germantown high school seen above

Official say the bots are sending the same images to schools in other parts of the country. 

‘This morning, multiple threats were made against multiple Memphis Shelby County Schools within Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County,’ The Shelby County Sheriff’s office said.

‘We ask that parents refrain from coming to the schools to pick up their children while we investigate these threats. Your cooperation is appreciated.’

Videos posted to social media show panicked parents at Southwind high rushing to try to pick up their kids after seeing reports of the threats on social media. 

In an email sent to parents, the Memphis-Shelby school district said:  ‘We are aware of a threat to several of our schools and, as a precautionary measure, please do not go to your child’s school as law enforcement is actively investigating. We will provide updates as necessary.’

Victoria Ayers, a parent of a student at the school, wrote on Facebook: ‘To the parents, guardians, and siblings of students at Southwind High School, we need to be mindful of our actions. 

‘We’re all in a difficult and uncertain situation, searching for answers and wanting to get our loved ones out safely. However, during a lockdown, no one is allowed to enter or exit the school.

‘This is not the time for arguments or confrontations; instead, we should remain calm and considerate of others, as we all have someone we care about inside.’

Germantown police said their officers are working with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security to determine the legitimacy of the threat.

They added in a statement: ‘We a have large contingent of personnel at the school and we will remain on-site out of an abundance of caution.

‘In addition to Germantown High School, we have deployed additional officers to schools throughout Germantown for the remainder of the day.’