A child has been taken into custody in Florala for threatening two schools.

“(Tuesday) afternoon around 2:30 p.m., a child came into the police department and showed police a Snapchat (post) that was threatening W.S. Harlan Elementary School and Florala High School,” Florala police chief Sonny Bedsole said.

The threat was set for Wed., Feb. 21.

“We immediately notified both sites and involved the sheriff’s department. We didn’t believe it was a true threat, but we wanted to be prepared in case.”

The two departments cooperated to form a safety plan and notified E-911 ahead of time.

Around midnight, the same child that warned the police department of the threats admitted that the threat was hoax.

“The child told investigators that they did not want to go to school and that’s why they made the threat,” Bedsole said.

“We never got a straight answer out of why the child didn’t want to go to school.”

Bedsole said the child will be initially charged with terroristic threats and false reporting to law enforcement.

Bedsole said although this wasn’t a real threat, it was a learning experience.

“We had about 150 or so law enforcement officers on standby with E-911. I’m glad it wasn’t a needed thing and we will treat this a training exercise. I just want people to think before they make bad decisions that can effect a lot of people.”