Tennessee students charged with school shooting plot

Two sixth graders in Tennessee have been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder after allegedly plotting a school shooting, according to media reports.

The Washington Post reported that authorities brought the charges on Friday after uncovering the alleged plot. A tipster reportedly told authorities that the students had a “hit list” of potential targets for the shooting at South Cumberland Elementary in Crossville, Tenn.

The names of the students have not been released and they are being held in custody as they await a hearing.{mosads}

Investigators ultimately did not find a “hit list” but did uncover a map of the school and a plot that the students allegedly had to carry out the shooting, authorities said in a statement, according to the Post.

The students held “multiple conversations” during which they allegedly came up with plans to kill other students and employees at the school, authorities claimed.

Gary Howard of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said during a news conference Monday that the school was never in immediate danger.

“We did not have an active threat, but we did have an investigation that needed to go forward,” he said, according to the Post.

Janet Graham, an administrator at the school district, said Monday that while the school never faced danger, the alleged plot “makes you sick to the pit of your stomach.”

“Regardless of whether it’s viable or whether somebody’s really done something, our children and faculty and staff are our most precious commodity,” she said.