CHERAW, SC — Chesterfield County Sheriff’s deputies have charged two juvenile suspects accused of making unrelated threats to shoot up Cheraw High School.
Sheriff Jay Brooks says the students at the school were never in any immediate danger, and that School Resource Officer Timothy Knight handled both threats in a timely manner.
According to reports, one threat was made by a 15-year-old student who sent a text message to another student saying they should not come to school next week because he was going to come back and “shoot up” the school.
The student had reportedly been sent home due to an outburst in the commons area, which officials say stemmed from other students picking on him for how he treated his girlfriend.
When questioned by authorities, the student reportedly said the text was sent out of anger and there was no real intention of carrying out any violence.
A second threat was also made by a 14-year-old student, who officials say was involved in a fight in one of the common area’s bathrooms. The student allegedly made a verbal threat to shoot up the school, but later denied it when questioned by authorities.
“I commend the students who came forward to the School Resource Officer and made him aware of the threats that were made. I also commend SRO Knight for his prompt handling of the situation,” says Brooks. “The Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office is fully committed to keeping our students, faculty and staff safe at all of our schools.”
The Chesterfield County School District also released the following statement about the incident:
“We have worked with the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office and the individuals responsible for these threats have been taken into custody. We appreciate the community’s diligence in making us aware of the situation, and as always we will continue to put student and staff safety as our first priority.”
The suspects are both juveniles and therefore their identities will not be released.
