Taylorville Police Department warning students to stop calling in false-alarm school shooting threats. 

Chief Dwayne Wheeler says police arrested 18-year-old Payton L. Chronister of Taylorville for Disorderly Conduct School Issue – A class 4 felony. 

At 9:27 Thursday morning, Taylorville Police received a call about an active shooter threat at Taylorville High School. Officers arrived within two minutes. 

Officers immediately secured the school while officials placed the school under a soft lockdown.

While securing the building, officers learned that someone wrote, “There is a school shooter in the building with a gun help,” in one of the bathroom toilet stall walls. A student observed this and immediately told the staff. 

Upon reviewing security footage, police figured out that the student that observed the threat actually wrote it. Chronister allegedly wrote the threat between his first and second hour of school, between 9:14 and 9:18 a.m. 

Chief Wheeler says Chronister had motive to get attention and to get out of school early. 

Christian County State’s Attorney Wes Poggenpohl approved the charge. Chronister will have his preliminary hearing Friday, November 4th. 

School resumed normal activities and there is no threat to the school or the public. There are no injuries. 

Chief Wheeler stresses that students who pull these kind of shenanigans will end up in jail. He urges parents to talk to their kids about the seriousness of such actions.