By VICKI BROWN
Parents, teachers and students at the Colleton County Middle and High Schools found themselves worried on Monday, November 1st as it was reported that someone had plans to randomly shoot students. It was a hoax.
The threats appeared on social media on Sunday, October 31st, claiming that a shooting would take place on Monday. The threat read, “2:00 November 1st colleton county middle school will be shoot up make sure y’all hide y’all little kids before we cap em.”
Law enforcement officers in the community and the Colleton County School District Office took the threat seriously and immediately began preparing. Sean Gruber, coordinator of communications for the district, sent out a written statement to all parents acknowledging the threat.
“…(we) have instituted multiple layers of security and additional precautions in response and are working with local law enforcement officials to determine if this threat is credible. There will be an increased law enforcement presence at CCMS for the rest of November 1st.”
According to Gruber, all CCMS students will pass through metal detectors or be screened with a metal detector wand when leaving their bus or car. The school was also under lockdown with doors locked and faculty and staff on alert.
“Ensuring the safety of our students and staff, and promoting their social and emotional well-being, is our district’s first priority. We will continue to investigate this threat and use whatever safety and security measures needed to properly respond,” said Gruber in a written statement. He also said that more information would be forthcoming via the district’s website, emails and dialers.
While the assurance of security measures was appreciated by parents, it did little to alleviate the fear and panic. Many students stayed home, and many others were taken home by parents, guardians and grandparents. There was a steady stream of students going home.
“I wanted to speak to the policeman in the school,” said Gloria Copeland, who was there to pick up her granddaughter Karleigh Hunisinger. “There were several officers in the school, and I wanted to tell him that something needs to be done about the student who put that threat online and expel them. It needs to stop,” said Copeland. “This is ridiculous that this had to happen. I believe they will catch this student eventually.”
“I am a little scared,” said Hunisinger. “There are only seven kids left in my class. Everyone either didn’t come today or are signing out.”
R. Moore was there to pick up his grandchild. “There was a gun threat, and I was worried enough to come pick up my grandchild,” he said.
Word spread to Colleton County High School where the threat had evidently spread and students were leaving for the day there as well. “I am not really scared because this has happened before at our school, but a lot of people are taking this seriously,” said Amira Glover, a student at CCHS.
“I am worried about my kid,” said Jason Peeler, a parent. “They should have put a stop to all of this long before now. And even though the sheriff’s department has responded well, parents are tired of having to call all the time to see if it is safe to bring kids to school.”
These complaints come on the heels of approval by the Colleton County School Board to purchase 12 new metal detectors for the district at a cost of $48,000.
Many parents hope that it’s not a case of ‘too little…too late.’ “This has been going on too long,” said Peeler. “This has been a problem for a long time, and it has been getting worse and worse.”
At about 4:33 p.m. on Monday, the alleged suspect in the case, who is a juvenile, was taken into custody on Monday by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office. The suspect’s identity cannot be released because he/she is a juvenile.
The Colleton County School District also announced on Monday afternoon that the threats were a hoax.
“After a thorough investigation, the social media threat was found to be a hoax created by a CCMS student. At no point were firearms found on any of our school properties or on district transportation,” said Gruber, in a written statement. “The student is being dealt with according to local law enforcement protocols and procedures and does not pose a threat at this time. CCSD wants to thank the officers of the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office for their prompt and professional response to this hoax social media threat,” he said.
By press deadline on Tuesday, no criminal action had occurred at either school. Colleton County School District Superintendent Dr. Vallerie Cave has also created a video about the incident: that video response can be found on the district’s You Tube channel.
