School bomb threats frustrate leaders

Barnwell High School has been plagued by five bomb threats in less than two weeks.

The first threat on Friday, Feb. 17 was followed by two more on Thursday, Feb. 23 and Friday, Feb. 24. On Monday, Feb. 27, the school received two more threats within hours of each other. Following each threat, the school was evacuated and law enforcement responded to clear the building. No bomb was found.

“These are extremely disruptive to schools and the education of children, but they also prevent us from being able to address other crimes and issues in the county,” said Chief Deputy Darlene Cook with the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).

Four of the five threats were emailed while the one on Feb. 24 was called in. A juvenile male student was arrested for that threat and is facing criminal charges.

“We were able to quickly identify the number because it was called in,” said Cook.

However, she said the emailed threats have been more difficult to track. They came from a couple different emails, although two of the threats were from the same email address. It’s unclear if the threats are related.

“We have not been able to determine a specific place or person the threat came from,” said Cook of how the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has been unable to trace the source of the emails. “We are still running down leads.”

According to Barnwell District 45 Superintendent Dr. Crissie Stapleton, “SLED is actively working to determine who sent the email threats and using their resources to continue investigating that. Our local law enforcement and the district’s IT Department is working closely with them to provide any information that would be helpful in that investigation to identify the culprit.”

Barnwell County schools have had seven bomb threats this school year, including five at Barnwell High and two at Williston-Elko High. But threats are not just happening locally.

“We’ve seen several other school districts in the state who have had bomb threats multiple days in a row. Last week, during one of our threats, there were at least 12 other schools in the state experiencing the same problem. During that meeting, the lieutenant with the SLED Bomb Squad said they’ve experienced over 30 bomb threats across the state in the last two weeks and those are just the ones that are reported to them,” said Stapleton.

So far this school year, there have been 317 false reports of violence in schools around the country, reported The Educator’s School Safety Network last week. They report a 600 percent increase in false threats in the last four years.

“It is disappointing these threats continue to happen statewide, and even nationwide, taking time away from what our greatest job is - educating our students. We are fortunate law enforcement responds so quickly and we are able to activate our plans and return to normal operations as quickly as possible; however, any loss of instructional time is too much,” said Stapleton.

BHS administration is working with staff to develop a plan on how to address lost instructional time that has happened in the past two weeks. “They will support our students as they catch up on any instruction or skill acquisition they need to recover,” Stapleton said.

What’s led to the increase in threats?

“The National Association of School Resource Officers has shared the motives for these continued attacks appear to be intentions to cause mass panic or disruption,” said Stapleton.

Though the threats have been false, “safety is of the utmost priority in Barnwell School District 45,” said Stapleton. That’s why each threat is taken seriously by district officials and law enforcement.

“We are so fortunate we have a wonderful partnership with local law enforcement and emergency responders, as well as having a strong safety plan in place with a specific bomb-threat response protocol. Our administrators continue to train our staff members and students on how to execute those plans in the case of an emergency. Part of our plan includes maintaining open communication, providing accurate information to our parents, and striving to be as transparent as possible when informing our families of allegations, such as bomb threats, while still maintaining the integrity of the investigation,” she said.

The school district and law enforcement are also exploring ways to improve.

“We will continue to work with the schools and SLED to determine what we can do better in the future,” said Cook of better ways to respond or trace the threats.

With the recurrence of threats, district officials met with SLED’s Lieutenant BJ Foster, part of SLED’s Bomb Squad and Counterterrorism Dive Unit, in person on Monday, Feb. 27. District officials, school officials, BCSO leaders, and local emergency personnel met to discuss the response to these bomb threats and consider information being presented statewide.

“According to SLED officials when we met, this isn’t merely a Barnwell problem, they have seen increases in bomb threats statewide and consider it a huge priority across South Carolina. Having that meeting allowed us to consider other responses to threats such as these, which the Board of Trustees and district officials are currently considering at the recommendation of SLED officials. SLED officials said they have created new guidance considering the extreme rise in bomb threat cases in schools statewide,” said Stapleton.

That guidance was shared during the meeting, so it could be considered in strengthening the district’s bomb-threat response plan. SLED will present that information to the district’s board members on March 1.

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, school officials with the assistance of law enforcement searched bookbags at each school entrance at the start of the day. Parents/guardians were notified during and after each evacuation response, and they were notified on Monday afternoon that these searches would take place as a proactive measure.

“Therefore, in a proactive measure, they checked anyone coming to the school to ensure the campus was secure should another threat be sent. That would allow the school to avoid loss of instructional time should a threat be made. While this is not a long-term solution, random searches may continue and the district will look at SLED’s newest recommendations, to determine possible changes to the district’s bomb threat response protocol and threat assessment protocol,” said Stapleton.

School officials ask parents to encourage their children to report any behavior that could in any way compromise their safety or the safety of others. They also ask parents to express to children the seriousness of a crime such as this.

“If a student is caught making a threat that disturbs the school environment, we will seek consequences to the fullest extent of the law, including criminal charges and expulsion,” said Stapleton.

"The investigation is active and ongoing. SLED would like to remind everyone to remain vigilant and report any information on bomb threats to local law enforcement," said SLED spokeswoman Renee Wunderlich.

On behalf of the district, Stapleton thanks the BCSO, Barnwell Police Department, Barnwell Fire Department, Barnwell County Emergency Management, Medshore, and Savannah River Site for their assistance in securing the building. She thanks administrators, staff, and students for quickly executing the emergency response plans.