Georgetown County student allegedly sent threatening text messages posing with a gun

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Georgetown County officials seized a gun from a student’s home after he allegedly admitted to posing with the weapon and sending a threatening text message.

A student at Carvers Bay Middle School reported to a parent that he received a text message from the 12-year-old suspect, a classmate at the school.

According to the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, the text included a photo of the suspect with a gun and threats to shoot at the school.

The Georgetown County School District alerted the sheriff's office about the threat around 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Officers searched the student's home on Ford Village Road, arrested him and he admitted to making the threat, the sheriff's office said.

Officers also said they seized the weapon shown in the text from his home and eventually charged the boy with threatening the school.

He will be housed at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia until a hearing can be scheduled.

Several other students later reported that they had received text messages and

to the authorities.

“Sheriff [Carter] Weaver commends the students for their courage in sharing important information,” the sheriff's office said in a press release. “He stresses the importance of the community being vigilant and urges parents to keep all weapons securely stored in their homes to ensure everyone's safety.”

Anyone with information about this incident should call 843-546-5102.

Carvers Bay Middle School is operating normally.

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