Police investigating a 2nd shooting threat made at McCracken Middle School last week
Police said Monday they’re still investigating a shooting threat made last week at H.E. McCracken Middle School, despite having arrested a 12-year-old Friday morning. Thus, investigations are still open at the seven Beaufort County schools where shooting threats were made last week, multiple police departments confirmed.
On Friday, Bluffton Police Chief Stephenie Price announced the first arrest at a press conference, but she didn’t mention there had been a second threat at McCracken, written by another student. Department spokesperson Christian Gonzales confirmed the ongoing investigation Monday afternoon.
The threats appear to be part of a national trend of bathroom graffiti left across the country last week following a Nov. 30 shooting at a Michigan high school that left four dead. Fortunately, like the other threats across the nation, those made in Beaufort County weren’t carried out.
Monday was quiet at Whale Branch Middle, Whale Branch Early College High School and Beaufort Middle and High schools, which were all warned that a shooting would take place. Beaufort County Schools spokesperson Candace Bruder said Monday that the district hasn’t identified any new threats since Friday.
However, officers are still working to identify the source of social media threats made at four schools, and haven’t made arrests at two other campuses where a threat was left as vandalism in bathrooms.
The H.E. McCracken Middle School student arrested was charged with making student threats and malicious injury to property at the school. He was released to the custody of his parents and is being processed through the family court system, Gonzales said Monday.
Gonzales said Bluffton Police Department expects to issue an update on its active investigations at McCracken and Bluffton Middle School midweek.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Bob Bromage said Monday that police had not identified the source of a Thursday social media post that read “wbms, wbhs, bms, and others I repeat do not go to school on the 13th, next Monday somebody is planning on shooting up the schools. Gotta email saying that somebody is planning on shooting the schools up.”
Additional officers were stationed at the schools Friday and Monday.
At Beaufort High, two messages were left: One on Wednesday read, “Don’t come to skool on the 13th.” The one Thursday said, “Warning!!! Dec. 13th DO NOT Come to School. There will be 6 kids that will shoot up the school. You have been warned.”
George Erdel, spokesperson for Beaufort Police Department, said Monday afternoon that the investigations into threats at Beaufort Middle and Beaufort High were ongoing, but that “everything should be OK by the end of the day.”
On Friday afternoon, Hilton Head Island High School was placed on lockdown for a social media shooting threat.
Bromage said Monday that a parent notified police after their child saw the threat online, and that when officers went to investigate, a student claimed that shots had been fired at the school. “They were not,” Bromage said.
Other schools in the Hilton Head complex — Hilton Head Island Middle, Elementary, Early Childhood Center and School for the Creative Arts — were placed on a modified lockdown as a precaution, said Bruder, the schools spokesperson. During a modified lockdown, students continue to change classes throughout the day, but they are more closely monitored and outdoor activities are suspended.
According to Bromage, the sheriff’s office has identified the source of some of the rumors on Hilton Head, including text messages and phone calls outside of school, but has not found the source of the social media threats.
“We just hope it slows down this week,” he said.
