Sheriff: ‘No validity’ to alleged threat at Rock Hill High

Published 10:31 am Friday, November 21, 2014

A Rock Hill student’s alleged social media posts prompted Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless on Thursday to beef up police presence at the high school. After questioning the student and talking with his parents, however, police and school officials determined there was no real threat.

On Wednesday, parents and staff heard a rumor that a student had threatened to bring a gun to the school on a popular social media website.

“We were unable to find a post or a witness that could confirm any type of threat was made,” Lawless said. “We showed up there to look things over but eventually we determined the whole thing was just something that got blown out of proportion. There was no validity to any threat whatsoever.”

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The school was not placed on precautionary lockdown at any point, contrary to reports on social media.

Eric Floyd, Rock Hill Schools’ assistant superintendent, said he was relieved when the threat was proven idle.

“We can never be too careful,” Floyd said. “Any allegation is taken very seriously and we are always appreciative of the support from the sheriff’s office. In the end, there was nothing to substantiate any kind of a real threat.”