16-year-old charged after false active shooter threat at Macon middle school

Deputies say the call was a false threat, and all students and staff were safe. The teen faces multiple charges.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A 16-year-old has been arrested after deputies say he made a hoax active shooter call at Ballard Hudson Middle School on Friday afternoon, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said the call came into the Macon-Bibb Emergency 911 Center at 2:46 p.m. The caller reported an active shooting inside the school on Anthony Road and claimed to be in a bathroom during the threat.

Deputies responded to the scene, cleared the building, and confirmed there was no threat. All staff and students were safe and secure, according to the sheriff’s office.

In coordination with Board of Education Police, investigators located the caller near Bloomfield Road and Elkan Avenue. Deputies said the suspect, identified as a 16-year-old boy from Macon, was taken into custody around 3:30 p.m. and transported to Ballard Hudson Middle School.

After further investigation by the sheriff’s office Criminal Investigation Division, deputies took the teen to the Macon Regional Youth Detention Center. He is charged with misuse of emergency 911, disrupting a public school and felony terroristic threats, according to the release.