LONDON (AP) — A British man was charged Saturday after he allegedly posted a threat on Facebook to kill 200 people in the U.S. state of Tennessee, causing many children to stay home from school, authorities said.

Reece Elliott, 24, from a town east of the northern English city of Newcastle, has been charged with making malicious comments, which led to 2,900 children skipping class in Warren County, Tennessee, police said. He did not enter a plea at a 30-minute court hearing and was ordered to remain in custody.

The online posting threatening gun violence was made anonymously on a memorial page set up for a Tennessee student who died in October. Police did not address the motive behind the posting.

After the Facebook post, police in Tennessee were stationed this week at schools in McMinnville, the seat of Warren County, 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of Chattanooga, but many students stayed away. Other security measures included having principals restrict who could enter the schools.

Northumbria police said they were cooperating with authorities in Warren County.