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Students, teachers and staff at a high school in the South Carolina Lowcountry were evacuated on Thursday afternoon (March 14, 2024) in response to a reported bomb threat.
Authorities in Hampton County, South Carolina responded to reports of a bomb at Hampton County High School – located in Varnville, S.C.
“Upon receiving the bomb threat, law enforcement officers were immediately dispatched to the scene,” an update from the Hampton County sheriff’s office noted. “The school has been evacuated as a precaution, and all faculty, staff, and students have been relocated to a predetermined safe location.”
Along with the sheriff’s office, assets from the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort (MCAS – Beaufort) responded to the school to conduct “a thorough search of the school premises to ensure the safety of everyone involve and to assess the credibility of the threat.”
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“We are working closely with Hampton County High School officials and local government agencies to manage this situation effectively,” a statement from the office of Hampton sheriff Anthony Russell noted. “The safety of our students, faculty and community is our utmost priority, and we are taking every necessary step to resolve this situation with the highest level of caution and precision.”
Russell’s office asked for the cooperation of the community in “avoiding the vicinity of the school” to allow law enforcement and emergency response units room to “perform their duties efficiently.”
This is a developing story … please check back for updates …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
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