RUSH COUNTY — A Rush County juvenile has been arrested following a false allegation that a classmate brought a gun to school and there would be "bloodshed" on Tuesday.
According to the Rush County Sheriff's Office, the juvenile was arrested Wednesday after making an allegation on social media about their fellow student.
The threat was investigated by both school personnel and law enforcement, according to the RCSO.
“Through this intensive process, it was clearly determined that this rumor was just plain false,” a release from RCSO said.
As the rumor spread, concern swept the Rush County community to the point that both Rushville Consolidated High School and Benjaim Rush Middle School had at or more than half of their students miss school Tuesday.
Additionally, RCSO said that the student whose name was used in the rumor and their family were “subjected to harassment in various forms”.
“The safety of our community and our schools is of the utmost importance,” Sheriff Alan Rice said. “False rumors of a school shooting are not only irresponsible, but they are also illegal. We will not tolerate this kind of behavior.”
The student who made the false allegations is being criminally charged.
