Deputies swoop in after teen threatens school shooting, Sumter sheriff says
A Sumter teenager was arrested Thursday morning after threatening violence at a Sumter County school, authorities said.
The 17-year-old, who allegedly threatened on social media to “shoot the school up,” was arrested upon attempting to enter the school, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The name of the Sumter school the teen allegedly threatened was not released.
Deputies searched the suspect, whose name was not released due to their age, but did not find any weapons on them. Investigators did, however, find other communication on the teen that “concerned” deputies, according to the sheriff’s statement.
The teen told deputies the threat was a “joke” and they didn’t mean anything by it, the sheriff’s office said in its statement.
Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said the agency takes all school shooting threats seriously and asked parents to monitor their children’s internet activity.
“When it comes to the safety of our children, no so-called ‘joke,’ will be taken lightly,” Dennis said in a statement. “Every parent feels the same gut reaction at even the thought of our children being put in danger — it is awful.”
The sheriff’s office learned of the student’s threat shortly after 6:30 a.m. Thursday after being contacted by the FBI National Threat Operations Center, which had flagged the social media post, according to the statement.
Deputies immediately responded to the juvenile’s home and high school, where the teen was found and placed under arrest, the sheriff’s office said.
The juvenile, who was charged with threatening schools, was taken to the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia, where they were set to appear in Family Court, according to the sheriff’s statement.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 2:21 PM.