Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008

Shooting victim’s funeral moved as school receives threats

Police to be at Chapin High

In the wake of the fatal shooting Friday night of a Chapin High student, extra law enforcement officers will be at the school when students return this morning.

“There had been some concerns that were raised in the community about talk about some type of disruption at the school, so one of the things that the principal wanted to do was obviously to avoid that,” said Buddy Price, Lexington-Richland 5 spokesman.

Price said police had heard general talk in the community of possible trouble stemming from the shooting death of 17-year-old rising senior Deshaun R. Clark.

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on the information it shared with the school district.

Francis Marion Reeves III, 62, has been charged with murder in Clark’s death. He is free after posting $125,000 bail Tuesday.

Clark had attended a party Friday in Chapin hosted by Reeves’ children when a fight broke out over a misplaced cell phone, authorities have said.

The concerns also led to the school’s decision not to have Clark’s funeral Wednesday at Chapin High as originally planned.

“We’re working closely with parents, and we just want to assure parents that we’re taking precautions,” Price said.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman John Allard and Price stressed that the school district and not the police had been responsible for the decision to move the funeral.

Parents received an automated phone call from Chapin principal Mike Satterfield Tuesday night.

“This may just be talk, but we take such threats seriously,” Satterfield said in the phone call. “For that reason, there will be a number of deputies on campus, and additional deputies on patrol in the vicinity of the school (today and Friday) to help ensure the safety of all our students.”

Tim Hanley, assistant pastor of Chapin Presbyterian Church and Satterfield’s friend, said the school had received one or two threatening phone calls this week.

“Mike called the family sometime on Tuesday and told them he had to consider the school’s safety,” he said.

After the school’s decision, the family had planned to have the service at Mount Zion AME. At a community meeting Tuesday night in Little Mountain, Hanley offered to have the funeral at First Presbyterian.

Hanley estimated Mount Zion’s capacity at 150, compared with about 550 at his church.

“Almost every chair was taken,” Hanley said of the funeral.

“We had a great celebration of Deshaun’s life.”

Reach Tate at (803) 771-8549.