ARRESTS were reported in Weirton and Jefferson County on Wednesday in connection with threats against several local schools.

A juvenile has been detained in connection with the threats of violence that disrupted Buckeye Local schools this week, Sheriff Fred Abdalla Jr. said late Wednesday.

Abdalla said the juvenile in custody “is admitting and taking responsibility for the threat that was made via Snapchat Monday morning, as well as a Snapchat threat that was made Tuesday evening somewhere between 7 and 8 p.m.”

“We’re going to continue to investigate this matter to make sure that, in fact, this individual acted alone and that no one else had knowledge or helped in any way,” the sheriff added.

Monday’s threat had triggered a soft-lockdown and all after-school activities were canceled.

The follow-up threat posted Tuesday night led Superintendent Coy Sudvary to cancel classes Wednesday.

“I’ve been in conversations with Superintendent Sudvary, and they intend on having school tomorrow,” he said. “Every student that enters the building will be checked by school staff in the presence of law enforcement. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department will have a heightened presence within the district moving forward as we vet all of the information we received, and we make sure no one else was involved. Parents can make the decision they feel appropriate on whether or not to send their children to school.”

The juvenile’s initial appearance before Juvenile Judge Frank W. Noble Jr. will be today.

Abdalla said it’s a wake-up call for all parents.

“We, as parents, better wake up and be more vigilant about the type of social media platforms our kids are utilizing, the type of content that they’re viewing as well as sending via social media,” Abdalla said. “And the first time you look at your child’s phone shouldn’t be the day the sheriff’s department shows up at your door.

“And parents have got to talk to their kids and explain to them that when they see a threat, report it immediately — don’t screen shot it and share it. Report it immediately so we can get to work and see where the threat originated.”

Abdalla said one problem law enforcement had tracking the Buckeye Local threats was that, “We had this threat that had been screenshot and shared, language was added. That made our job harder in determining where it had originated.”

Abdalla credited Buckeye Local’s staff and administration “for how well they handled the situation and ensuring the children’s safety as well as their cooperation with the sheriff’s office.”

In an ironic twist, when the original threat was made around 10:30 a.m. Monday, the Jefferson County Juvenile Court was holding an assembly at Buckeye Local with several law enforcement officers in attendance.

“We couldn’t have had more police protection within the building when the threat was made if we called ourselves,” Sudvary said.

St. Clairsville-Richland City Schools weren’t initially named in the threat but were added on Tuesday evening. Before the school was even threatened, St. Clairsville Superintendent Walt Skaggs made the decision to place the buildings on a “soft lockdown,” meaning that all exterior doors are to be locked with nobody from outside of the school having access to enter the building. Upon receiving a threat, Skaggs decided to place the schools on a Code Yellow Lockdown, which is similar to a soft lockdown buts adds that students must be escorted to each class and have an escort if they need to leave a class or the building at any time.

Skaggs said that St. Clairsville has a school resource officer on duty but also had three other officers from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office patrolling the buildings throughout the district.

Belmont County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy James Zasack said he has been in regular communication with all of the school districts that were threatened and has implemented a heavier police presence on their campuses.

Although Martins Ferry City Schools operated under a soft lockdown on Tuesday, Superintendent Jim Fogle said the decision was made for the school to conduct business as usual.

“We’re going to continue to operate on a regular schedule, but we have enhanced safety measures in place,” Fogle said Wednesday. “We have an increased police presence within our buildings and are actively communicating with the Belmont County police as well as not letting visitors into our buildings.”

He added that Martins Ferry schools regularly have two resource officers on duty.

Shadyside Superintendent John Haswell added that his district continued to operate despite being named.

“It was like a normal day of education going on. The only difference is we had a closed lunch and a closed recess and some parents called their kids off,” Haswell said of the school day Wednesday.

He mentioned that the schools were locked and had a very prominent police presence, which he plans to continue to do until he receives word that whoever is making the threats has been apprehended.

Union Local School District also was threatened. Superintendent Zac Shutler was pleased to hear of the arrest.

“I believe all the superintendents are appreciative of the efforts of local law enforcement to solve this case within 48 hours. They do a great job working and communicating with local districts. However, safety is always priority number one for districts. That’s doesn’t change,” he said. “Students learn best in a safe environment. From that standpoint, we will continue to operate with the safety of our students and staff as our top priority.

“It’s unfortunate educators and students are forced to deal with these serious threats that lead to distractions and disruptions that impact everyone on an emotional and psychological level. But we will continue to do our best to create a safe and secure setting for our staff and students.”

Meanwhile, the youth allegedly involved in a threat against Weir Middle School on Monday is now facing felony charges. According to Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney Steven Dragisich, the individual, who has been identified by law enforcement as a sixth grade student at Weir Middle School, has been charged with threatening a terroristic act under West Virginia Code 61-6-24(b).

If found guilty, the youth could face fines of between $5,000 and $25,000, or confinement in a state correctional facility for one to three years, or both.

“I have zero tolerance for any individual who makes any such threats in Hancock County,” Dragisich said. “The safety and security of the teachers, students, and citizens of Hancock County are of paramount importance to me. Accordingly, any individual, whether a juvenile or an adult, making any similar terroristic threats will be charged and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Gage Vota, Linda Harris and Craig Howell contributed to this report.