Arrests Made at Hixson High as Supt. Addresses School Violence

Two boys have been arrested at Hixson High. The two boys, who are not students at Hixson High, were found inside the building. One boy had an unloaded 9mm handgun in his possession.

Those arrested are Kenny A. Hall, 18 and Derrick L. Jones, 18. Hall faces a charge of criminal trespassing and Jones faces the same as well as carrying a weapon on school grounds.

Hamilton County Sheriff's Office tells us Hall is a student at Soddy-Daisy High School, but Jones is not a current student. Both teens are former Hixson High Students.

The suspects are being questioned by authorities. Additional charges may follow. The school was in lockdown for about an hour as authorities searched and investigated, however the lockdown ended just after 2 pm.

Authorities say the two boys came to the school to see a current student there. There was no confrontation, but a school resource officer learned the boys did not attend Hixson and called for additional help. Authorities say when they were arrested, the unloaded weapon was found on Jones.

The arrests occur at the exact same time Supt. Dr. Jim Scales was holding a news conference at Central High School addressing school violence.

When asked about the timing of the incident with Dr. Scales announcement, Hamilton County Sheriff's Sgt. Max Templeton said, "It's a serious problem, the most simple things can get someone hurt in these conditions because it causes panic."

We also talked with parents as they waited outside the school... some receivng text messages from from children locked down inside. Randy Ramirez is one of those parents. He says, "I'm very unsettled and very concerned for my daughter, very nervouse. She says there has been a lot of fighting, lot of racial tension."

James Young has two children who will soon attend Hixson High and has heard about the recent school safety issues. He says, "It kind of concerns me as a parent, the public schools have been in the news, in my opinion they need to start paddling them kids again."