Minor to be charged for making online threats about Richland County school, sheriff says

A child is expected to be charged after making threats on social media about a middle school in Columbia, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

Extra deputies were on patrol at E.L. Wright Middle School after the threat was made on Instagram over the weekend, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

The extra patrols were a precaution because the minor was identified on Sunday, according to the release.

School Principal Malinda Taylor said “there is no immediate threat or danger to our school,” in a letter sent to parents, WIS reported.

The sheriff’s department said the juvenile is not a student at the middle school, which is located near the intersection of Alpine Road and Two Notch Road.

The child will be charged with student threats, according to the release.

It’s against the law for a student of a school or college “to make threats to take the life of or to inflict bodily harm upon another by using any form of communication,” according to South Carolina law..

The juvenile’s identity is not being made public because the child is under the age of 17.

Once charged, the minor will have to appear in Family Court, but no date has been scheduled.

“I want to assure you that we are being extremely cautious and doing all we can to provide a safe environment for our students, employees and parents,” Taylor said in the letter.

E.L. Wright is for students in sixth to eighth grades and offers two magnet programs, according to its website.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 10:37 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription