BLECKLEY COUNTY UPDATE (Saturday 9/20/26):
Sheriff Daniel Cape confirmed that the suspect is a male Bleckley County Middle School student under age 16 and that the alleged school-shooting threat was discovered through the juvenile’s online activity. The student was taken into custody on school grounds at approximately 1:30 p.m. Thursday, but Cape said no guns or other weapons were found.
WGXA also reports that the juvenile is being held at a Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice facility on a charge of terroristic threats and acts, with additional charges pending. The investigation remains active.
Sheriff’s office says no specific church, date or time was identified
COCHRAN, Ga. — A juvenile taken into custody Thursday after authorities investigated an alleged school shooting threat in Bleckley County also expressed plans involving an “active event” at a church, according to an update Friday from the Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities say no specific church was identified and no date or time was given in connection with the additional threat. The juvenile remains in the custody of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice while the investigation continues. (41NBC News | WMGT-DT) The juvenile’s name and age have not been released.
According to reporting based on statements from Bleckley County Sheriff Daniel Cape, the sheriff’s office and the FBI’s Macon Resident Agency received information Thursday that a juvenile had allegedly expressed intentions of carrying out a school shooting.
Authorities described the information they received as serious and credible. Investigators identified and located the juvenile, who was then taken into custody. Cape said he believes law enforcement’s response prevented a potentially devastating act of violence involving the community’s children and educators. The sheriff’s office did not publicly identify a specific school as the intended target in its initial statement.
Bleckley County Middle School issued a statement to parents Thursday acknowledging that law enforcement had notified administrators about threatening comments allegedly made by a student. School officials said law enforcement immediately investigated, identified the student involved and took appropriate action.
Importantly, the school said students and staff were never in danger during the incident. (Bleckley County Middle School) The administration also encouraged parents to talk with their children about the seriousness of making threats, emphasizing that threatening comments can result in both criminal and school disciplinary consequences. (Bleckley County Middle School)
The investigation took another turn Friday when the sheriff’s office disclosed that investigators had learned the same juvenile also expressed plans to carry out what authorities called an “active event” at a church. Officials have not publicly identified a particular congregation or location as a target. They also said no date or time was specified.
Because authorities have not released additional details about what was meant by an “active event,” Hazlehurst Now is using the terminology provided by law enforcement rather than characterizing the alleged plan beyond what investigators have confirmed.
The juvenile remains in state juvenile custody, and the Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation is continuing with its federal partners. Additional details, including any charges filed against the juvenile, have not been publicly announced by the sheriff’s office in the latest information available.
Hazlehurst Now will update this story if authorities release additional information.
