The Newton County School District was placed on lockdown Monday morning after a Facebook post claimed an escaped inmate was on school grounds.

Newton County Sheriff Joedy Pennington said multiple law enforcement agencies searched the school grounds and found no evidence the inmate was there.

“This morning a post was made on social media stating that one of the escaped inmates from Clark County was in Decatur and on one of the schools properties,” Pennington said in a statement posted to Facebook. “The Newton County Sheriff‘s office, Newton County schools Police Department, Decatur police department and East central community college police department, conducted a search of all school grounds in Decatur. The escaped inmate was not there. All schools have come off of lockdown and have resumed normal classes.”

The Facebook posts prompting the lockdowns were made by an account claiming to be Bruce Davis, a Clarke County inmate who escaped from a work detail September 23 with fellow inmate, Damion Rose. In the posts, the person claimed to be at Newton County High School and suggested they may have a gun.

Clarke County Sheriff Todd Kemp said it was unclear whether Davis made the posts or if he was being impersonated. However, he said, whoever made the posts would face charges.

“That is a terroristic threat,” he said.

Under the 2019 Mississippi Terroristic Threats Law, making threats of violence that cause a reasonable expectation of an offense is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Kemp said the search for Davis and Rose was continuing Monday. He said the U.S. Marshall were assisting in the search, and the department was exhausting all efforts to find the two inmates.

Both inmates, he said, had been in custody for crimes relating to drugs and larceny.