Two sixth-graders charged in school shooting plot in Tennessee

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. - Two sixth-grade students have been arrested and charged in a school-shooting plot, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said. 

The two students, whose names have not been released because they are juveniles, were charged Friday with conspiracy to commit murder after authorities say they plotted to shoot students and faculty at South Cumberland Elementary School. 

According to the sheriff's office, a South Cumberland Elementary school resource officer learned of a rumored “hit list” of students to be targeted in a future school shooting.

The school asked a special threat assessment task force to investigate.

“Our first and most important responsibility is to ensure the safety of our students and staff," said Schools Director Janet Graham in a news release from the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. "It was determined that at no time during the investigation students or staff were believed to be in any immediate danger."

Investigators did not find a hit list but did find a hand-drawn map of the school and a plot between the two students to hide weapons in the school locker room.

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The plan to kill on the last day of school

Deputies said the students planned to enter through the back door on the last day of the school year, retrieve the weapons and begin shooting faculty and students before committing suicide. 

The investigation revealed multiple conversations between the students in the past two weeks that focused on the plot, according to the news release.

Deputies searched the students' homes for weapons and other evidence relating to the plot, but found no weapons in either home.

Parents of both students cooperated with school administration and law enforcement, the sheriff's office said.

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Students await court hearing

Both students were arrested and transported to the Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Facility, where they remain in custody. 

“We take any threat to students and school faculty very seriously and we will respond, investigate and take swift appropriate action to manage each threat," said Sheriff Casey Cox.

District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway said the students' cases will remain in juvenile court.

Follow Brittany Crocker on Twitter @brittcrocker.