MARTINS FERRY — Police have arrested at least one individual in connection with a threat against some children at Ayers Elementary School, according to a message from school Superintendent Jim Fogle.

Ayers Elementary School was locked down Monday afternoon in the wake of a threat against specific students, but officials say everyone is now safe.

A threat was made in a message on social media against specific students at the school. City Police Chief John McFarland said someone had threatened to come to the school and harm the children in the social media post. Superintendent Jim Fogle notified parents about the situation, and the Martins Ferry Police Department was called to patrol the school to ensure the safety of the students.

“For extra security we even had off-duty officers come to make sure everything was OK,” McFarland said. “There are two officers designated in investigating this right now. We are 99 percent sure we know who made these threats. Everything is safe now, though. There was nothing more than just that comment that was made. The person the comment was made to was the one who made us aware of everything.

“The kids are a No. 1 priority, and we want to always make sure they are safe,” the chief added. “We had very upset parents coming through here (to pick up children), and I hate that we had to stop them while a lockdown was going on.”

At the scene, McFarland said he was confident the person who made the threats would be arrested later today.

At about 4:30 p.m., parents of students in the district received an automated phone message from Fogle. In that communication, Fogle said an arrest had been made in the case.

Following the call, McFarland was not immediately available for comment.