Gun was loaded in Aiken High teen’s bag, police say

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - We’re learning more today about the discovery of a gun at Aiken High School on Tuesday.

Among the new revelations: The gun was loaded, according to a spokeswoman for the Aiken Department of Public Safety.

The agency released an incident report Wednesday that shed more light in the case.

At about 1 p.m. Tuesday, an officer responded tp the school at 449 Rutland Drive to investigate a report of suspicious activity, according to the report.

The officer was told that a 14-year-old boy had been in multiple restrooms throughout the school cutting class.

The juvenile offender was escorted to the principal’s office and unable to explain why he was not in class, according to the report.

He was asked if he had any contraband on him, which was against the school code of conduct.

He told the officer he had a pocket knife for protection, according to the report.

The juvenile removed the knife from his front left pocket and placed it on a table.

A school employee then began looking through the juvenile offender`s book bag and discovered what appeared to be a handgun in large pocket of the bag, according to the report.

The officer removed the firearm and secured it.

The juvenile offender was immediately detained and transported to the Aiken Department of Public Safety headquarters for booking.

READ THE INCIDENT REPORT:

This comes after a series of threats of violence at schools across the CSRA, including rumors at Aiken High School that led to an investigation earlier this month.

A couple of weeks after school threats started rising dramatically locally, the problem continues.

The spike in school threats has been a disruption to districts across the CSRA. Threats started coming in a few weeks ago in Jenkins County, then started again the week before last at Burke County High School. Since then, several other schools have been affected.

Here’s a look at some of the latest cases:

In Edgefield County

Parents of students at Merwiwether Middle School got a message from Principal Mindy Clark about something that raised some concerns.

On Monday, school and district officials were made aware of rumors regarding a potential menacing statement made on social media, Clark told parents.

“Per district policy, we immediately were in with law enforcement who have worked with us to initiate a full investigation of these rumors,” the message stated.

MORE | What's behind spike in school threats? An expert explains

Clark said the police and school do not have reason to believe there is a threat to our school community.

“We recognize that national and regional events have made these rumors especially alarming,” the message stated. “I want to reiterate that the health and safety of our school community continues to be our first priority, and we will continue to take every step possible to fully investigate and respond to any and all potential safety concerns.”

District spokeswoman Susan Haire added Tuesday that the school investigation had concluded and that s do not have a reason to believe there is a threat to the school or the community.

In Burke County

On Monday morning, a parent of a student at Burke County Middle School reported suspicious activity to school s, deputies said.

The parent discovered a PowerPoint being circulated among several students.

Within the PowerPoint were several meaningless phrases, emojis and images of monkeys. Of the 27 slides in the presentation, one depicted a monkey’s head on a human’s body holding a handgun and the phrase “Now you shoot up a school with 9mm.”

“This is believed to be an isolated incident and has no direct connection to the previous threats received by the Burke County High School on December 2, 2021,” the sheriff’s agency reported.

Those incidents at Burke County High led to the closure of the school for a day.

The school district will ister disciplinary action in connection with the latest incident and the sheriff’s agency has ed the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice with a referral of disruption of a public school because of the students’ actions, deputies reported.

“The BCSO will continue to work with BPS to ensure a safe learning environment for our students, staff, faculty, and community,” the sheriff’s agency said. “We ask that all personnel continue to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity or pertinent information to school personnel or law enforcement.”

In Columbia County

Meanwhile, we learned Monday of an incident Dec. 8 at Harlem Middle School.

A student said that another student overheard a student saying, “Yo I`m finna shoot up the school.” The student accused of making the statement denied doing so, but two other students heard it, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.

The student was taken to Columbia County jail for processing and fingerprinting and then transported to the regional youth detention center, according to deputies.