Vulnerable adult identified as suspect in Lee County school threat

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – An Itawamba County woman who was described as mentally challenged is the lone suspect in an email threat targeting Lee County Schools.

According to Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson, the case showed the importance of swift response from law enforcement and school administrators.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Department was notified Wednesday afternoon of a threat sent by email, targeting Lee County school campuses.

“We gave this information to Criminal Investigation Division here, who immediately started looking at subpoenas, ways to track emails, IP addresses, things of that nature, about 11 last night we determined where this message came from,” said Sheriff Johnson.

In the meantime, the district sent alerts to parents, informing them of the threat, the decision to put all schools on a soft lock down Thursday morning.

Investigators tracked down the suspect, a 28-year-old mentally challenged woman who lives with her mother in the Dorsey community. The sheriff said investigators found evidence linking the woman to the threat.

A second meeting with the suspect, and two experts who work with vulnerable adults, took place Thursday morning.

“We talked with this young lady and she did admit she was the one who did it, very coherent, very understandable. Even with that mindset, you know what you’re doing, know right from wrong we’re fully planning on prosecuting them regardless of what everybody else thinks, we have got to set an example that we’re not going to tolerate this,” said Sheriff Johnson.

A Facebook post early Thursday morning informed parents of the latest developments, and pointed out that each campus in the district now has a school resource officer on duty.

Sheriff Johnson estimated it cost several thousand dollars to bring in extra officers to patrol campuses in the wake of the threat.

It also costs the school district money. Although he wasn’t available for an on camera interview, Lee County superintendent Dr Jimmy Weeks said he wouldn’t be surprised if as many as a thousand students missed school because of the threat. Federal funding is based on daily attendance. The superintendent also wanted to thank the sheriff’s department for their quick work in cracking the case.

Sheriff Johnson said the district attorney will decide what specific charges will be filed against the suspect.