PAINTSVILLE – Johnson Central High School and Johnson County Middle School were placed on lockdown Thursday morning, after a student allegedly made threats that led to his arrest by the Paintsville City Police.

The student, a 14-year-old freshman, was arrested at home and charged with terroristic threatening and disorderly conduct.

“We had a kid that threatened some students yesterday and we suspended that student,” said Johnson County Supt. Steve Trimble. “We followed up with a police report. There were a lot of things on the internet and Facebook, according to some information we received, and it was said that some threats were made that he might come back to school today.

“As a precautionary measure, we put our kids from the high school and middle school in the gym and put the schools on lockdown just to be safe. He never did come on our campus. We actually talked to him at his home to make sure he was there. When he was taken into custody, we sent our kids back to class. There’s no guarantee that he sent any texts or emails, but we are going to take even rumors of a threat seriously.”

According to Paintsville City Police Capt. Jason Arms, the student did not have any weapons when he was arrested.

“At no time did he have any weapons,” Arms said. “He was arrested for a threat that he was going to be bringing weapons to school.”

When the schools were put on lockdown, an emergency communication system sent messages and phone calls to parents to inform them of what was going on.

“The safety of our students and staff is our top priority,” said Trimble. “Everything else comes second.”