On Wednesday, February 3, Columbia County School Resource Deputies completed an investigation into threatening statements made by a Columbia High School student.
The investigation began late Tuesday night when the school alerted Deputies that an unidentified student had made statements to another student about trying to harm himself over the weekend. The student made additional statements about since his attempts failed he would go to a school and “shoot it up”. The student that reported the statements to the school officials did not know the student’s name that made the threats, but provided a description. The School Resource Deputies were unable to identify the student during the night.
Out of an abundance of caution, the School Board placed all county schools on controlled movement/lock down Wednesday morning until these statements could be investigated.
On Wednesday morning, the Deputies identified the student and interviewed him at length about the statements. The male sophomore student admitting talking about school shootings, but denies planning any such action. As a result of the interview, the student was Baker Acted for a mental health evaluation.
All schools in the county returned to normal operation shortly after 9am.
Sheriff Mark Hunter said, “This is a serious situation and we do not take the safety of our children lightly. Everyone involved came together to protect the children. The student that sounded the alarm to his teacher was a crucial step in this process. I am grateful for the very effective partnership CCSO has with the School Board.”
