(Walhalla, SC)-------------------------------------Today, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office detained a 15 year old male teenager in an ongoing investigation regarding reports of the student possessing a firearm on a school bus.
A Juvenile Referral Packet will be completed and turned over to Family Court in regards to the teenager being charged with one count each of Unlawful Carrying of a Firearm, Making Student Threats, and Possessing a Weapon on School Property. The teenager is being transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Columbia.
Yesterday, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office issued a news release in regards to an investigation of reports of a student who was possibly in possession of a firearm on a school bus.
A School Resource Officer, who is assigned to a school in the School District of Oconee County, was notified Monday afternoon and began an investigation. The School Resource Officer, as part of the investigation, spoke to the student in question and notified the student that he was not allowed to come to school until the investigation was concluded.
Further investigation conducted by the School Safety Unit of the Criminal Investigation Bureau revealed that the teenager made threats to students on the bus, while in possession of the firearm on the school bus, which is considered school property and is not allowed. Also, someone under the age of 21 is not allowed to be in possession of a handgun.
“A Juvenile Referral Packet is the equivalent of an affidavit that is typed up by a law enforcement officer in an investigation involving an adult, in which arrest warrants are being sought in a criminal investigation,” says Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “The safety of our students, teachers, administrators, and employees of our schools is, and remains, our number one priority.”
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation. Due to the teenager being a minor, no further information can be released that could, either directly or indirectly, identify the teenager in the investigation.