Midlands 13-year-old allegedly threatened to ‘shoot the school down’

A teenager girl at a Midlands middle school allegedly wrote Monday that she would “shoot the school down.”

The 13-year-old student will be petitioned to Family Court for disturbing schools, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident occurred at Chestnut Oaks Middle School in Sumter County, where the 13-year-old allegedly wrote the threat on a restroom floor during school hours.

Other students saw the writing and reported it to school officials, said public information officer Ken Bell. Surveillance video led authorities to suspect the 13-year-old.

She later reportedly admitted writing the message, although authorities found no credibility to the threat, Bell said. Authorities contacted the girl’s parents and she was released to their custody.

Law enforcement authorities and school officials stress that no students were ever in danger from this threat and no weapon was located, according to Bell.

“Although we don’t believe this student had the ability to carry out this threat, we take all threats seriously,” said Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis. “Through the quick action and cooperation with school officials, our investigators were able to identify the student involved and bring this case to a close. Because of her age, it will be up to the family court system to determine what happens to this student.”

This was at least the second threat made at a Midlands school Monday. Earlier, Camden police deemed a threat at Camden High School not credible, but continue to investigate the matter.

This story was originally published February 19, 2018 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Midlands 13-year-old allegedly threatened to ‘shoot the school down’."