2 juvenile boys charged with threats, vandalism at Fort Mill school, police say
Police in South Carolina have charged two juvenile boys with making written threats at a high school in Fort Mill, officials said.
One boy charged is age 16, and the other is age 14.
The names of the students, who attended Fort Mill High School at the time of the Sept. 8 threats, were not released because of their ages.
The 16-year-old is charged with student threats, threatening a public employee, and four counts of vandalism, according to Capt. Steven Bivins of the Fort Mill Police Department.
The 14-year-old is charged with one count of student threats and one count of vandalism.
The teens will be prosecuted as juveniles in York County Family Court, officials said.
Both teens were released to the custody of family members after they were charged, Bivins said.
Threats started Sept. 8
The written threats that were vague but referenced the school to watch out on Tuesday -- Sept. 13 -- were found Sept. 8 and Sept. 9 in a boys bathroom stall at the school, according to police and a police incident report.
The first threat said, “Good Luck Fort Mill 9/13/22 R-Wing Forst,” the police report stated.
Pictures of the threats were circulated on social media and led to serious concerns for school safety from students, staff and parents.
There were no carried out acts from the threats, police said.
Threats sparked $1,000 reward
Extra officers were at Fort Mill High and several campuses in the district from Sept. 9 through Thursday, officials said.
The threats prompted a police and schools investigation that included the Fort Mill school district offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
It’t not known whether information that led to the arrests of the juveniles came from the public or from the police investigation. Officials said the school has surveillance cameras but the interior of bathrooms do not have cameras.
The Fort Mill school district is the largest in York County with around 18,000 students. The district has three high schools. The district also is adjacent to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina.
Fort Mill school district spokesman Joe Burke said Thursday afternoon a message was sent by the district to all parents and posted on schools social media Thursday stating both suspects had been charged.
School safety concerns in York County
The seizure of three weapons in Rock Hill in late August and the arrest of three juveniles has prompted safety concerns from parents and the public.
Two guns were found at high schools in Rock Hill, and one at a Rock Hill middle school.
Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett said in court and in a public forum hosted by the Rock Hill school district on Monday that school guns, violence and threats are being taken seriously by his office and cases will be vigorously prosecuted -- even if the perpetrators are juveniles.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 4:12 PM.
