PEARSON, Ga. — A bomb threat that prompted the dismissal of all Atkinson County schools last Friday is believed to have been made by a man who was already incarcerated and serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The threat was received Friday, Aug. 21. Atkinson County School System announced that morning that all students and staff were safe but said schools would dismiss for the remainder of the day “out of an abundance of caution.” All after-school activities, including the scheduled high school football game, were also canceled. The district said it was following established safety protocols and working with law enforcement while the situation was investigated.
The Atkinson County School Chief of Police subsequently requested assistance from the GBI.On Tuesday, Aug. 25, the GBI identified Kendall Alfonzo Stevens, 37, originally from Savannah, as the person investigators believe made the threat. Stevens is currently incarcerated at Telfair State Prison, where he is serving a sentence of life without parole.
According to the GBI, preliminary information indicates Stevens made the threat in an effort to disrupt school operations. Atkinson County Sheriff David Moore had announced Monday that investigators recovered the phone used to make the bomb threat and determined the suspected caller was already in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections. Bomb-detection K-9 teams were among the resources used to search the school following the threat.
The disruption did not end with Friday’s original threat. Over the weekend, additional concerns surfaced after threatening content involving Atkinson County students appeared on TikTok. According to Sheriff Moore, investigators identified a juvenile accused of making those posts and recovered the phone allegedly used to create them.
Authorities have stressed that the TikTok threats and Friday’s bomb threat were separate incidents. Moore said investigators did not believe the juvenile was capable of carrying out the scenario described in the social media threat. Law enforcement increased its presence at Atkinson County schools as students returned to class.
The GBI investigation into the original bomb threat remains ongoing. Once completed, the investigative file will be turned over to the Alapaha Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
Hazlehurst Now will continue to follow developments in this investigation as additional information is released by law enforcement.
