Lockout at middle school in Lexington County after student was sent threat, officials say
A middle school in Lexington was placed on lockout Thursday after a student was sent a threat, the principal said in a letter to parents.
Shortly before 1 p.m., Pleasant Hill Middle Principal Julie Painter told students’ families that the school was under a secure/lockout procedure. The school is on Rawl Road, near the intersection with Pisgah Church Road.
At about 2 p.m., school officials sent another message to parents saying the lockout was lifted, and that the Lexington 1 school has resumed normal operations, and all after-school events will be held as scheduled.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department has identified a minor who it believes sent multiple texts to the student, spokesman Capt. Adam Myrick told The State.
The texts could be interpreted as threatening, and investigators are talking with the minor, who is also a student in the district, Myrick said.
The student who was threatened was not at the school when the threat was sent, Painter said. The student was participating on a field trip with several classmates at the Columbia campus of the University of South Carolina, according to the letter.
The student who was threatened, and all of the other Pleasant Hill Middle School students, are safe, and USC Police are investigating in Columbia, Painter said.
Charges are possible, but from what investigators have discovered at this point, there was no plan to hurt anyone at the school, according to Myrick.
That conflicts with Painter’s letter, where she said Pleasant Hill Middle was placed on lockout because the person who called the student also threatened the school.
Secure/lockout means operations inside the building continue as usual, according to Painter.
“Our students are safely learning,” Painter said. “We take all threats seriously and are investigating fully.”
There is often an increase in threats to schools following school violence like that which took place earlier this week in Texas, according to the letter.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 1:40 PM.
