After hearing reports of shooting Wednesday morning, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department declared that there was no active shooter on the Blythewood High School campus. After responding to claims that a bullet had been fired at the Richland 2 high school from an unknown caller, deputies determined that there was no active shooter. According to a news release from Richland 2 spokeswoman Ishmael Tate, the sheriff’s department determined the call was one of at least three hoax calls made to South Carolina schools on Wednesday morning. The Blythewood High campus on Wilson Boulevard was put on lockdown while law enforcement searched the structure.
Tate stated that there was no proof of gunshots or injuries occurring at the school.
After the response from the police, the sheriff’s office advised residents to stay away from the crowded location. According to the sheriff’s office, parents of Blythewood High students will be permitted to reunite with their kids. The sheriff’s office changed direction and said that pupils will be returned to parents from the stadium at Blythewood High after initially setting up a reunification center about a mile from campus at the neighboring IGA grocery store on Blythewood Road. “Please have your (identity) with you and exercise patience as there will be considerable traffic. Any parents at IGA will be redirected, according to the sheriff’s office.
On Wednesday, a comparable occurrence also took place at Burke High School in Charleston. Burke High had an active shooter report, according to Charleston police, however it was later determined that this was a hoax. The incident in the Lowcountry did not result in any injuries. According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, there was another complaint of gunfire at Beaufort High School at the same time as the occurrences at Blythewood and Burke. There have been no injuries associated with that incident.
According to the Island Packet, the Bluffton Police Department stated that it also received complaints of “similar threats” in Greenville and Myrtle Beach from a number of other counties. Following bogus claims of school shootings at Myrtle Beach High School, Conway High School, and Myrtle Beach Middle School, the Myrtle Beach Police Department and Horry County Schools said there were additional hoaxes. According to Lisa Bourcier, a spokeswoman for Horry County Schools, the district was the target of what are thought to be “swatting calls,” which are prank calls made to emergency services in an effort to mobilize lots of first responders.