By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A slew of violent threats has plagued Beaufort County schools in the past week and has led to an increased police presence at most of the schools and one lockdown and closure.
Thankfully, all threats have been unfounded, but local law enforcement say it’s better to take precaution until they know there is no threat to students, faculty and staff.
On Monday, Sept. 16, rumors of potential threats toward Battery Creek High School began to circulate among parents and students on social media.
The threat claimed that a group of young people were overheard at a gas station talking about a “shoot out” at the high school.
According to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Master Sgt. Danny Allen, the Sheriff’s Office investigated the threat and has not found any information to substantiate it, but out of abundance of caution there was an increased law enforcement presence at the school on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Beaufort County School District spokesperson Candace Bruder shared the communication that was sent out to Battery Creek High School families, and in it, the BCSD asks that the community be “mindful of sharing unverified content on social media” and instead, report any concerning behavior or posts that they see to school officials or law enforcement.
A similar message regarding sharing unverified content on social media was sent to all families in the Beaufort County School District community after several schools increased law enforcement presence on campus following rumors of potential threats on social media.
Beaufort Middle School, Hilton Head Island Middle School and H.E. McCracken Middle School all had increased law enforcement on campus due to rumors of threats.
Additionally, the Wardle Family YMCA in Port Royal made the decision to close on Friday morning after a threat was made to their preschool.
The facility went on lockdown, and members who were in the building were allowed to leave, but no one was allowed to enter the building “until it [was] safe to do so,” according to a post made on their Facebook page.
Parents of children who are enrolled in their preschool program were informed immediately and their afterschool program was also canceled for the day.
The YMCA said that they were contacted by the FBI about an unsubstantiated threat to their facility, which representatives from the YMCA said that they took very seriously.
“Out of caution, the Y took the threat seriously,” said the YMCA, “immediately going into an emergency lockdown to ensure the safety of their members and program participants.”
Bridges Preparatory School also had an increased police presence on Wednesday, Sept. 11, after a student had an emotional episode in the hallway saying, “What do I have to say, that I am going to shoot up a school to get your attention?” in response to a teacher confiscating his earbuds.
The student and the situation were both assessed using the school’s Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) and the school’s team concluded that the outburst was a “cry for help” and not a threat against the school, according to a communication Gary S. McCulloch, chief executive officer of the charter school, to students’ parents.
Master Sgt. Allen and Bruder agreed that it is not common for this number of threats, but that it is not uncommon for things like this to happen following a mass shooting event in a school much like the one that took place at Apalachee High School in Georgia that took place on Sept. 4.
In a release, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) stated that they are aware of more than 60 threats targeting schools throughout 23 counties in South Carolina since the Sept. 4 shooting.
“These threats are extremely serious and will be treated as such,” the release states.
At this time, 21 juveniles have been charged in connection to recent school threats in South Carolina.
“School threats are not a joke,” said SLED Chief Mark Keel in the release. “Law enforcement takes every threat seriously, and everyone needs to understand there are serious consequences.”
SLED’s Behavioral Science Unit is assisting with six different school threat investigations, each in a different county.
It is unclear at this time if Beaufort is one of those counties, but the release states that upon discovery of the threats, law enforcement officials work diligently to secure the schools and find those who are responsible.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
