News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Henry County School Bus Held Hostage

Author: Mario Sánchez Prada, Wikimedia Commons

The man who held a bus full of Henry County students hostage with a bomb threat this morning is undergoing a mental evaluation. Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew says 26 year old Steven Decker boarded the bus during a stop on Guthrie Road. He told the bus driver he had a gun and a bomb and demanded $25 thousand  in cash. Belew says the bus driver called 9-1-1 during the incident. He says,

“Just a few minutes later deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene, and took the suspect into custody without incident. There were 19 kids on the bus and no-one was harmed whatsoever.”

Sheriff Belew says Decker did not actually have a bomb or any other weapon on him at the time. He says Decker is charged with 8 counts of aggravated kidnapping and 12 counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and is being held at the Henry County Jail on a $250 thousand  bond.

Shelly Baskin works in MSU's Office of Regional Outreach and is a graduate student in Occupational Safety and Health. A roustabout from Memphis, Tennessee, Shelly first found his way into WKMS through the newsroom back in 2011 through luck, charm and force of will. Though he left news for another position, he still enjoys working on independent radio projects and volunteering for the station. He’s an avid disc golfer and occasional real golfer and is terrible at both. A lover of all things musical, Shelly is always ready to hear something new and unique.
Related Content