Deputies converge on ARC as threats put school on hard lockdown

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - There was a large law enforcement presence at the Academy of Richmond County on Friday afternoon after a bomb threat was issued.

No bomb was found, and no one was hurt.

But one student said something has to change, with threats like this one taking away from educational time.

“Even though this was something that we are grateful to get out of and we are glad to be here, what if something else happens?” said Taylor Eckels, a 10th-grader. “That’s what we should be focusing on, and I’m very disappointed because as a student here, we are coming to school every day for our education, not to be on lockdowns – especially not to sit and worry about whether or not we are going to be here the next day.”

Richmond County Board of Education member Charlie Walker said the school and Richmond County Sheriff’s Office each got a phone call with the threat around the same time.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office sent deputies, dogs and a bomb squad to help campus police after the threats put the school on a hard lockdown. The Augusta Fire Department responded, as well, waiting in a nearby parking lot.

“We are currently removing students from the school building hallway by hallway and turning them over to their parents for car rides home or for bus rides,” the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement issued at 3:11 p.m.

Once officers determined there was no danger, they dismissed students slowly, a school district spokeswoman said.

Eckels said it was stressful, but students came together.

“It was very scary. I would say then it started calming down when people started realizing that everything was OK and that we were safe,” he said. “We started praying. We did, we indeed started praying, because one thing about ARC, as many things as we go through, at the end of the day, we all continue to come together and strive for greatness.”

Parents said they received a message from the district that a threat “against student safety” put the school on a hard lockdown but that no threat had been identified and that students were safe in their classrooms.

“We ask that parents and guardians stay in proximity of the campus and not block emergency vehicles,” the message stated.

News 12 reporters on the scene saw Richmond County Sheriff’s Office cars blocking the road leading into the campus at Russell Street and Walton Way.

There were many more deputies on Russell Street, and additional ones standing outside.

Every entrance to the campus was blocked by patrol cars with flashing lights.

A large line of parents was at the scene trying to pick up their kids.

By 3:50 p.m., buses were at the school to take students home, and police had left the scene by just after 4 p.m.

The investigation into the source of the call is being handled by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the district said.

Despite the threat, an ARC basketball game was still planned Friday night at Cross Creek High School.

The incident happened in the same week a gun slipped out of a student’s pants during a classroom fight at Butler High School. In the aftermath of that incident, parents and students are once again raising questions as to why there are no metal detectors in Richmond County schools.

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