High school in Lexington County evacuated after being targeted with threat, cops say

A high school in Lexington was evacuated Monday morning after it was named in a threat, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Students and staff have evacuated from White Knoll High School, the sheriff’s department said. The Lexington 1 school is on Platt Springs Road, near the intersection with South Lake Drive.

A threat was directed toward White Knoll through another school district’s tip line, according to the sheriff’s department.

Information about the threat was not available.

As of 10:15 a.m., deputies were sweeping the school building and checking the campus.

“As we work to keep everyone safe and the campus secure, no one is allowed on or off campus except for law enforcement and district/school administrators,” the sheriff’s department said.

Messages left with Lexington 1 were not immediately returned.

At about 11 a.m., the sheriff’s department said the school had been cleared of any threats.

This continues a trend of Midlands schools being threatened.

Last week, several schools in Lexington and Richland counties were either evacuated or placed under a safety protocol as they were targeted by threats, officials said.

White Knoll High was one of the schools that was named in a threat last Thursday, prompting the sheriff’s department to investigate and send extra deputies to the school’s campus. It was eventually cleared of any threats last week, according to the sheriff’s department.

The sheriff’s departments in both counties, as well as the Lexington Police Department, said no credible evidence of the threats was found after the law enforcement agencies searched the schools.

A student from Spring Valley High School was arrested last Thursday in connection with threats targeting Midlands schools, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

The 15-year-old was charged with threatening to use a “destructive device,” conveying false information about using a destructive device, student threats and disturbing schools, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department deemed all of the threats to be hoaxes done to disrupt schools.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 10:24 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

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