ELLERBE — School officials say a gun was found in a student’s backpack Friday morning, a day after an alleged threat.
“It was brought to our attention yesterday that a student at Ellerbe Middle School made a threatening statement of a school shooting for Friday, February 18th,” Katherine Bendell, director of Professional Development/Curriculum Technology Support, said in a statement released around 4 p.m.. “Student and staff safety is always our top priority; therefore, we took this matter very seriously and had extra law enforcement present on campus today. Parents were notified Thursday afternoon of the threat through a phone message from Principal (Melvin)Ingram.”
Bendell said school personnel and law enforcement used metal detectors to conduct a “safety search” as students arrived on campus.
After the gun was found, Bendell said authorities were notified “and actions were taken to ensure the safety of all students and staff …”
Bendell added that students kept a regular schedule throughout the day as law enforcement remained on campus. She added that parents were kept informed in the morning through a phone call from the principal.
“We will continue to put measures in place to provide a safe and secure campus for our students and staff,” Bendell said. “We want to thank our EMS staff, RCS School Resource Officers, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s (Office) for their diligence.
“Richmond County Schools takes all threats seriously, and we will follow up with appropriate consequences including reporting them to local and state authorities to determine the best course of action for each situation. As always, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. We encourage all our families to continue to talk with your children about making good decisions and sharing information to help keep our schools safe.”
