April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Two Hauser students expelled after threats to others
Tallent said there were three extra Hope police officers at the schools on Thursday and a Bartholomew County deputy patrolling outside the school just to ensure everyone's safety.
Of the two situations, one was an altercation between two students where one made a threat to the other -- not a threat to the school in general. That student has been expelled after the threat.
In the second incident, a student made a vague threat against the school verbally last week, but social media has amplified that situation almost beyond recognition.
Tallents said that at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Hope police were alerted that a student had supposedly made a threat to "shoot up the school" on social media. However, that online threat never happened.
"I just want to get out there that there are a lot of falsities that people are posting on social media," Tallent said. "I just saw one saying that we found a gun in this kid's backpack yesterday. Not true!"
Similarly, there were also fake social media reports of the student posting photos on social media having an AR-15 rifle and making bombs. Those posts and situations did not occur either, Tallent says.
"The posts about him posting things on social media are false," Tallent said. "He hasn't posted anything on social media. No pictures were posted on social media."
The original threat was made face-to-face, not on social media. Tallent said.
"Nothing was on social media as far as this goes," Tallent said.
The police did talk to the student, who has since been expelled, Tallent said. Police were given permission by the child's mother to search the home and a handgun and a small caliber rifle were taken from the residence, Tallent said. The student was released to his mother. Police are also in the process of interviewing students who may have heard the actual verbal threat that happened last week.
The students in both incidents will face intimidation charges, Tallent says.
But he stresses that there was never a credible threat to the students or the school.
"Hauser High School and Hope Elementary are as safe as we can make them," Tallent said. "It is a normal day here at Hauser... We have no active threat here at Hauser."
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