Many law enforcement agencies, school districts and individual schools in Arkansas released statements of a "possible school shooting" in the state.
"We received word from the Little Rock office of the FBI, just saying that there was a threat that had been made that had been sent to them from a person from overseas," Lonoke Sheriff’s Dept. Captain David Bufford said.
The statements have similar language, some stating that on August 20th, the Little Rock FBI released a statement to law enforcement agencies across the state to be aware of a possible threat of school shootings in Kentucky on August 28th and Arkansas on August 29th.
However, Facebook posts with incorrect information have been spreading like wildfire.
Law enforcement agencies and school officials are hoping their statement clear up any rumors.
"It scares other people. We're all parents also and we have kids in this county and school districts. We take every threat seriously. It's just a threat, the FBI wanted to let us know, 'hey this has come out.' They can't confirm any credibility to it. They weren't able to confirm the identity of the person who reported it," Bufford said.
What we do know, no specific threat has been made.
"It's not a threat that's absolutely going to happen in the state of Arkansas," Bufford said.
Regardless, the Little Rock School District says the information they do have is being taken seriously.
Their director of safety and security is reminding parents to contact law enforcement if they do hear of a threat moving forward.
"This is a great time for parents to speak with their children as well as to remind themselves that if they do see something, they need to say something. We take everything seriously when it comes to this," LRSD Director of Safety and Security Ron Self said.
Part of their protocol is making sure the correct information is shared.
"We do whatever we can to ensure that our students are kept safe, and one of those things is informing the parents about what is going on," Self said.
The Arkansas State Police also issued a statement tonight.
They said no useful details have been uncovered by the FBI, however, if credible information is received, the public will be informed.
We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.
