A Tennessee preschool teacher was taken into custody after reportedly making a threat to shoot another teacher and the school during a dispute.
Authorities in Nashville arrived at The Academy of McCrory Lane around 11 a.m. Thursday, where they spoke with a staff member who informed them that the preschool and daycare had been placed on lockdown due to the threat. According to WKRN, police were called to the scene..
The employee identified the teacher as Sheneca Cowart, 29, and indicated that she was still in the classroom with another teacher and the children.
An affidavit stated that officers observed live footage of the classroom and saw Cowart without any visible weapons, and moving the children into a closet, as per the lockdown procedure reported by the staff.
Additional officers arrived, proceeded to the classroom, saw Cowart leaving the closet, and instructed her to come into the hallway, to which she complied and was apprehended without resistance.
Staff members informed authorities that Cowart made threats to “attack” the school and mentioned having a gun “on her,” according to WSMV. WSMV reported that a teacher overheard Cowart say, “When I start shooting, you better run.”Another educator indicated that she had stated intentions to shoot the teachers in the “kneecaps because it would not kill them.”
Initially, Cowart denied the allegation, yet later admitted to making the threat on April 10, as reported by WKRN. She initially refuted having a gun, but after police found a loaded firearm in her purse inside the classroom, she disclosed possessing a second gun in her car parked outside.
Cowart is facing charges of assault, threatening violence at a school, and two counts of bringing a weapon onto school premises. She has been detained on a $37,000 bond.
[Featured image: Sheneca Cowart and one of her guns/Metro Nashville Police Department]
A Tennessee preschool teacher was arrested after reportedly threatening to shoot another teacher and the school during a dispute. Nashville police arrived at The Academy of McCrory Lane at approximately 11 a.m. on Thursday, where they were informed by a staff member that the preschool and daycare had been placed on lockdown due to the threat, …