Published at 4 p.m.

Good afternoon, KCS families. We wanted to follow up on our previous message regarding our situation this morning when, like many other school districts across Tennessee, we dealt with a hoax communication regarding the threat of an active shooter at Dobyns-Bennett.

Thanks to the work of KCS staff and our partners with the Kingsport Police Department, we were quickly able to determine that this was part of the larger hoax that stretched all across Tennessee, and the SROs and KPD officers that responded to the D-B campus were able to determine that our students and staff were safe.

Please know that KCS and local authorities continue to monitor the situation and we will support the statewide investigation as we can.  As the TBI has stated, at current and to the best of our knowledge, none of the reports of an active shooter in Tennessee high schools have proven to be credible and there is no immediate threat to public safety at this time.

We do want to thank the KPD and our community for the response to today’s situation.  We will continue to stay aware and engaged with this situation to provide the safest environment for our students and staff.

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Published at 12 p.m.

Good morning, KCS families.  We wanted to reach out to you this morning to share that, like other school districts across Tennessee, we are dealing with what is widely believed to be a hoax communication regarding the threat of an active shooter at Dobyns-Bennett.  

Administration and the Kingsport Police Department, as are other area schools and other law enforcement agencies across the state, are investigating the source of this communication.  Please be aware that operations at Dobyns-Bennett and all our schools are safely taking place today as usual, as again, law enforcement investigates this apparent hoax. 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has released a statement this morning, saying they are currently working with state and federal partners to determine the source of several hoax calls, placed to local law enforcement agencies, reporting an active shooter at several high schools in the state. At this time, none of these reports have proven to be credible and there is no known immediate threat to public safety at this time. 

KPD and our school resource officers are on-site at Dobyns-Bennett and do not believe there to be any threat to our students at this time.  

Again, law enforcement will continue to be present at D-B as the investigation continues.  We will update you with any additional information as we receive it. 

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