Three arrested after FBI foils planned shooting at Georgia high school

Cherokee High School was allegedly the intended target of the shooting, which arrest warrants claimed was scheduled to take place next August.

By Misty Severi

Published: October 28, 2026 8:15pm

The Canton Police Department in Georgia said Tuesday that three people have been arrested in connection to a foiled plot to shoot up a school next year after the FBI reportedly spotted social media posts regarding the plot.

The FBI notified Cherokee High School in Canton of the plot after seeing "threatening social media posts," and the school notified local police, according to the Associated Press. Cherokee was the alleged intended target of the shooting, which arrest warrants claimed was scheduled to take place next August.

The arrest warrants identified two of the suspects as 17-year-old Shane Keith Taylor and 21-year-old Michael Brandon Terry, who allegedly reached an agreement with an unidentified juvenile suspect to provide weapons and had planned outfits and discussed buying body armor, video cameras and combat boots. Taylor is considered an adult under Georgia law.

It is not clear how the suspects know each other, and the third suspect, who is still a minor, has not been identified. However, he was arrested on Oct. 20 and is tied to the town.

Cherokee County School District Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis reassured parents in a video message that local and federal law enforcement had successfully disrupted the plot, but acknowledged the terror of the planned attack.

“The mere thought of a school threat, let alone hearing of an alleged conspiracy to carry one out, is honestly devastating, and, like you, I have experienced the range of emotions that follow this type of news,” she said.

Investigators said they have collected guns, ammunition and electronic devices as evidence. No ongoing threat to the high school or any other school in the county has been identified, and the investigation remains active.

The FBI's success in stopping the attack comes after it foiled a terror attack on the Mall of America in Minnesota earlier this month.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.