The below is a joint statement from Scotland County Schools and the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office:
On Thursday, January 24, it was reported by two brave students to Carver’s administration that students had made threats online against students and staff at the school. Following policy and protocol, school administration immediately reported it to district administration and to law enforcement. School officials and the Sheriff’s Office investigators worked together to determine that there was no immediate physical threat to students or faculty. Upon Sheriff’s Office arrival on campus, they conducted a safety sweep and inspection of the school campus and declared it safe. The investigation continues and the school system and Sheriff’s Office remain committed to ensuring the safety of students and staff.
As in cases such as this, there have been multiple reports both in the news and on social media. Often times the factual information is not reported correctly or can be misinterpreted. Both the school system and Sheriff’s Office wanted to take the opportunity to clarify that there was never any ‘hit list’ that included any specific students’ names. The messages from the students did include the names of two staff members, but never any individual student names were mentioned. It was also reported that the threat was supposed to be carried out on Friday, January 25. Again, after preliminary investigations on Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office determined that the threat had been eliminated from the school and that the school was safe for normal operation on Friday. Scotland County Schools and the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office would not have allowed school to be held on Friday if we had any indication that the campus was unsafe for students and staff. During this investigation, both the school system and the Sheriff’s Office recognize that one area of improvement is how we communicate with each other and with our parents, guardians, staff, and community. Please know that we both are committed to improving this process.
Again, the school system and Sheriff’s Office are dedicated to ensuring that our schools remain safe and secure learning environments. We will both be reviewing our processes and will use this situation as a learning opportunity.
We remain committed partners in education and thank you for the trust you continue to place in us with the education and safety of your children.
Ron Hargrave, Superintendent
Scotland County Schools
Sheriff Ralph Kersey
Scotland County Schools Scotland County Sheriff’s Office