Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble Releases Statement Regarding Talbot County Public School Rumors and Incident

We have received many questions and comments about a teacher at an elementary school in Talbot County, Maryland. We do not have any information about this incident, as we have politely explained, however, this evening, Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble released the following statement:

The Talbot County Sheriff's Office has been working collaboratively with the Talbot County Public Schools for several weeks concerning a non-criminal mental health situation that began to surface a few weeks ago. The public needs to know that much of the information that parents are seeking from my office, and the school system cannot be released under Maryland law.

Out of an abundance of caution today, my deputies and TCPS security staff increased our presence at every public school in Talbot County. The safety of our citizens, especially the safety of our children, is our highest priority. This is exactly the reason why I started the "School Resource Officer Program" and committed full time deputies to protect our children and school staff.

Our community needs to know that your sheriff's office has been working around the clock exploring rumors and information that we have uncovered. Deputies investigated every rumor, much of which started on social media platforms.

Any rumor involving the attempted purchase of a firearm is simply not true. There has been no credible threat uncovered to any school. An order was served on the individual not to trespass on any TCPS property.

To be clear, an issue did arise from a picture on Facebook that we have thoroughly explored. Since that social media post deputies knew the whereabouts of the person posting the message.

As of this writing, all legal avenues have been explored and exhausted. No crime has been committed. This afternoon the courts took appropriate action under Maryland Law, none of which can be released to the public.

This office will continue to proactively monitor and investigate any changes and continue to collaborate with TCPS for the safety of our school community.

Sheriff Joe Gamble