Canton man arrested for allegedly making school shooting threat, police say

Police in Canton arrested a man Wednesday who is believed to have posted a threat via a Facebook message to commit a school shooting at Lincoln Elementary School, one of the city's five public schools.

Ryan Flatt, 35, was arrested at his home in Canton after the Canton Police Department made contact with him that morning regarding messages sent via Facebook Messenger to school officials saying that he was going to "shoot up" Lincoln Elementary. Flatt was charged with making a terrorist threat and disorderly conduct.

Canton Union School District #66 said in a statement that it discovered the threat Wednesday on Facebook Messenger, prompting an immediate report to CPD.

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An investigation began into the Facebook message, with all schools in the district being placed on soft lockdown with increased police presence at each building.

Following Flatt's arrest, the soft lockdown was then lifted. The district said that there is no threat to the district's buildings at this time.

CPD is continuing to investigate the incident. Flatt was being held Wednesday in the Fulton County Jail awaiting a first court appearance.

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Canton man arrested for school shooting threat on Facebook