Port Royal police step up presence at charter school after student made shooting threat
Port Royal police increased their presence at a local charter school Wednesday after a student made school shooting threats during an “emotional episode” in the hallway the previous afternoon. School officials say the incident represented a “low-level” danger and disagreed with the heightened security measures taken by law enforcement.
An incident report from the Port Royal Police Department says the comments were made by a “special needs” student of an unknown age at Bridges Preparatory School, a public K-12 state charter school with an enrollment of over 1,400. The student was walking through the hallway Tuesday afternoon when a teacher requested his earbuds, which “led to the outburst,” according to Gary McCulloch, chief executive officer of Bridges Preparatory School.
Several staff and students reportedly heard the child say, “F*** this school; watch me shoot it up.” As an unnamed witness was notifying school administration shortly after, the student allegedly made another threat: “When does it end? Does it end when I shoot the school up?” according to the police report.
The school’s security team was notified of the comments. Along with the principal and guidance counselors, security personnel performed a “threat assessment” on the student. The overall threat to the school was found to be “low-level,” according to McCulloch. Administrators chose to suspend the student for five days.
Staff reportedly confirmed with the boy’s parents that he had “no access” to firearms at home. McCulloch said there was not a pattern of similar incidents involving the same student.
“It was not a threat to our environment, and that was communicated to the parents, and for that child to just get additional help,” McCulloch told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
‘Overreaction’ or prevention?
McCulloch said that following the threat assessment, the school’s Director of Safety and Prevention Eric Hayes believed the incident “didn’t warrant a police report.”
Instead, Port Royal police received the information through an anonymous third-party report, in which the complainant expressed concern that the school “wasn’t taking the threat seriously.” The department elected to increase its presence at the school on Wednesday, raising concerns with some members of the school’s leadership.
“If there had been an appropriate conversation between the school and also the police department, then the overreaction certainly would not have taken place today,” McCulloch said. He added that several parents seeing the increased police presence Wednesday believed there was an active threat to campus, “which there wasn’t.”
For the remainder of the week and beyond, police presence at the charter school “would not be the same as what it was” on Wednesday, according to McCulloch.
Capt. John Griffith, a spokesperson for Port Royal police, said the department stationed four unmarked police cars at the school on Wednesday, which is “standard practice to enhance security with any unknown threat to a school or other location.” School officials did not identify the student to police until later in the day Wednesday, which initially prevented police from fully investigating the matter, according to an incident report.
The investigation into the threats was completed as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Griffith said, and the department was “confident that there is no ongoing threat to the safety of the students or staff.” The department would continue conducting patrols of Bridges Preparatory School “as normal.”
Last week’s deadly school shooting at a Georgia high school reignited debate about how school officials, law enforcement and parents can best prevent the attacks. In addition to the 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray’s four murder charges, prosecutors have accused the teen’s father of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for letting his son possess a weapon.
More than a year before the tragedy, 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray was questioned by local police about online posts threatening a school shooting, although investigators said they did not have enough evidence for an arrest.
This story was updated at 1 p.m. Friday to clarify the events that led up to the outburst.
This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 5:37 PM.
