Horry County solicitor discusses seriousness of making school threats
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division recently announced that it is investigating a series of school threats across the state, including some on the Grand Strand.
SLED said that they are aware of more than 60 threats targeting schools throughout 23 counties in the state since Sept. 4. 21 juveniles have been charged in connection to the threats.
A 2018 law revised the crime of disturbing schools to apply to non-students and create a charge of school threats that specifically apply to students.
15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson is one of the many prosecutors who say they're taking school threats very seriously. He said he's upheld his promise that if someone makes a school threat, they will for go to jail for months — if not years.
Richardson said that judges are also on board, and if you're going to scare teachers, parents and fellow students, you're going to deal with the consequences.
Richardson talked about Trenton Brown, a 19-year-old from Louisiana who spent 94 days in the Department of Juvenile Justice in connection with a threat at Carolina Forest High School.
"If you were arrested for a bomb threat, you're going to spend Veterans Day with us. You're going to spend Thanksgiving with us," Richardson said. "And about the time Mama finishes up Christmas shopping is about when you're going to get out."
Richardson urged parents to communicate with their kids and to talk about the serious consequences of making school threats to avoid a situation that could lead to an arrest.
"I wish that, for 10 minutes, parents would sit down and discuss it, because there's no reason to try and talk me out of a kid going to prison at that point," Richardson said. "Too many resources have been wasted. It scares the life out of other students and staff and parents. And somebody's got to pay for that."
Most of the threats made in South Carolina this year have been made online or through social media, and Richardson said kids make threats like this to get attention. However, he said this want for attention can lead to unwanted attention.
"These prisons, DJJ, the jails, are set up for killers, rapists, terrible people, gang bangers," Richardson said. "You don't want to be in there saying, 'What are you in for?' 'Why, I had a little bomb threat. I called in. We were just playing.' Because these other guys ain't playing."
Richardson hopes teachers and school boards can create something visual to help prevent students from making threats and serving time, because depending on the facts of the case, a juvenile who makes a school threat can be in prison until they are 21 years old.
"I think if one tries to carefully produce a 30-second, 1-minute video and just have every kid watch it," he said. "Just watch these little ankles walking around with chains on them. At Leiber, and Lee, and wherever the juvenile places is, and, 'Is this where you want to spend Christmas?'"
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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work here .
