Man arrested after tweets allude to active school shooting
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man was arrested Tuesday after police said a woman in Colorado called in possible threats on Twitter that alluded to an active shooter targeting a school in South Nashville.
The woman told officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department the person behind the Twitter account appeared to be “fixated on a student and took numerous pictures of the elementary school student,” according to an arrest affidavit.
The suspect, later identified as 46-year-old Brian Jones, also made threats toward the child’s teacher, police reported. The woman told police she did not know Jones but “was concerned for the staff and school children,” the affidavit said.
Time stamps on the Twitter posts showed they were created at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9. Police said there were multiple pictures and videos of Paragon Mills Elementary School that were consistent with the woman’s report.
The pictures were captioned with alleged threats like, “Children no parents your going to die” and “Shooter says you can’t stop this,” according to the affidavit. One caption also read, “Your Lazy ness got these kids killed.”
A video showed Jones driving by the elementary school and saying, “Bomb C4,” while another video showed him tying string and an unknown substance which he said was “enough C4 to blow up a school,” according to police.
That same day, school staff reportedly noticed a man yelling at students during dismissal and reported it to Metro Nashville Public Schools security, according to the school district.
Another video Jones posted showing tools on a chair reportedly led police to his location after they spotted his address on a piece of mail in the background. Police said the address was near the elementary school on Paragon Mills Road.
Upon further investigation, officers said they learned Jones has a history of mental health crises and making threats toward the elementary school. Police said no firearms or explosive materials were found at his home.
Jones is charged with making a threat of mass violence against a school and making a false report. He was arrested and booked into jail Tuesday evening. He was still behind bars Wednesday on a mental health hold and with a $25,000 bond.
Officials said additional security and police officers were stationed at the elementary school Wednesday morning. In an emailed statement, the school district thanked police for their “quick work” to “investigate the situation and take the suspect into custody.”