Texas man charged after threatening to ‘shoot up’ Rock Hill’s Northwestern High School
A Texas man has been arrested in connection with a threat made to “shoot up” Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, S.C., police said.
The Rock Hill Police Department was made aware Monday of the threat, which referred to the high school as “nwhs,” circulating on social media, according to a news release from the department.
Police said an investigation revealed that the threat was made by an individual in Harris County, Texas, which is in the Houston area.
Detectives asked the Harris County Sheriff’s Office for assistance in the incident and the sheriff’s office identified 20-year-old Chris Morales as the suspect, the release said.
The sheriff’s office charged Morales with terroristic threat and arrested him Monday night.
Rock Hill Police Lt. Michael Chavis said Tuesday the suspect met a Northwestern student online through social media.
During the contact, the student identified being a Northwestern student, Chavis said.
“The suspect established the student went to Northwestern and made the threats,” Chavis said.
There is not believed to be any other connection between the suspect and Rock Hill, York County, or the school, Chavis said.
School district response
Northwestern Principal Hezekiah Massey III said in a statement to parents that administrators were made aware of the threat Monday morning, and as a result, additional Rock Hill officers were on and near campus throughout the day.
Massey said before the school day started, administrators were alerted to a screenshot of a Snapchat message indicating someone was threatening to “shoot up” the school. The screenshot later circulated throughout the community via text and Snapchat, he said.
“Our Safety and Security Team take threats of this nature extremely seriously and we are thankful for the parent and student who have reached out to report and share the screenshot,” Massey said in the statement. “Thank you for being diligent in reporting these kinds of concerns to us and partnering with us to keep our schools safe.”
Massey encouraged students to report incidents by telling a school official, sending it to administrators in the district’s app or through the district’s tip line.
Rock Hill Schools Superintendent Tommy Schmolze said Tuesday as soon as the district reported the threat, Rock Hill police worked to ensure Northwestern students and staff were safe throughout the day.
“Rock Hill Schools is grateful to have community partners like Rock Hill Police who will immediately answer the call when we are facing critical incidents,” he said. “From deploying additional officers to be nearby to working with law enforcement more than 1,000 miles away – they showed up for us and for that we are thankful.”
Guns found in Rock Hill schools
Concerns for school safety heightened in Rock Hill last month after three guns were found in consecutive days respectively at South Pointe and Rock Hill high schools, and Dutchman Creek Middle School. All three schools are in the Rock Hill School District.
Three juveniles, including two who were on probation for previous gun violations, were arrested in connection with the gun seizures, officials said.
No one was hurt in any of the three incidents and no shots were fired.
As a result, the district implemented additional measures, including more randomized safety screenings at its three high schools and five middle schools. The district also held a forum this month with local law enforcement to discuss school safety.
This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 11:20 AM.
