These York County schools on lockdown as police seek Chester manhunt suspect

Note: Here are the latest updates on this developing story.

Several York County schools were placed on lockdown and other stages of alert Wednesday after police officials said a person who could be a manhunt suspect was seen on foot south of Rock Hill.

The schools were Rock Hill High School, Castle Heights Middle School, Lesslie Elementary School, Mount Holly Elementary School, and the Flexible Learning Center.

Rock Hill High School canceled all after school activities, officials said.

York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told The Herald the suspect was seen in the area near Rock Hill close to U.S. 21 and Firetower Road.

The sheriff’s office posted Facebook and Twitter alerts about the increased police presence in the area.

The Rock Hill school district said on its Facebook site around 2:30 p.m. that school officials put several schools on lockdown “due to law enforcement activity in the area.”

School officials said online, “This lockdown event is in relation to the suspect that has been on the run in Chester County since Tuesday morning.”

By 3:10 p.m., the lockdown was lifted for Mount Holly and Lesslie. The Flexible center was changed to a less severe lockout, while the lockdown remained in place at the other schools.

Mychal Frost, spokesman for the school district, said officials are monitoring the law enforcement situation in real time.

All after school activities on Wednesday have been canceled, Rock Hill athletic director Bill Warren tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

At 6 p.m., sheriff and school officials announced Rock Hill High had been cleared of all students.

Trent Faris, spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said in a social media posting around 6 p.m. officers remained in the area searching for Terry, the suspect.

Suspect sought and charged in shootings

Tyler Donnet Terry, 27, of Chester County, is the suspect. He has evaded police for more than 24 hours since he was charged with shooting at deputies in Chester County near Interstate 77. A manhunt involving more than 75 officers from local, state and federal police has been ongoing, but Terry has not been caught.

Wednesday, York City Police Department Chief Andy Robinson confirmed his officers have arrest warrants charging murder against Terry in the shooting death of Thomas Hardin on May 2. Robinson said the fatal shooting was being investigated when Monday’s manhunt started in Chester County.

Chester City Police Department officials said in a written statement Terry also is charged with attempted murder and other violations in two May 2 shootings on Erlich Street and J.A. Cochran Bypass.

Check back for updates.

This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 3:58 PM.

Andrew Dys

The Herald

803-329-4065

Andrew Dys covers breaking news and public safety for The Herald, where he has been a reporter and columnist since 2000. He has won 51 South Carolina Press Association awards for his coverage of crime, race, justice, and people. He is author of the book “Slice of Dys” and his work is in the U.S. Library of Congress.

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.