A phoned-in bomb threat at a local high school - which proved to be a hoax by two students looking to skip class - still has many in the community concerned about the way school officials handled the situation.
A call came into Wade Hampton High School around 7:32 a.m. last Wednesday stating that there was a bomb in the school. Authorities reacted quickly and followed standard disaster protocol.
"This is a serious offense," Varnville Police Chief Tyrone Smith said. "With the way the world is changing, and terrorist threats, you can't take a threat like that lightly. You don't play like that. Once you take something like this lightly, you could have a major disaster on your hands."
Students were promptly removed from the school to the baseball field, roads near the school were blocked off, parents were sent an automated phone message, and backup was called in, including the Hampton Police Department, the Hampton County Sheriff's Office, the Varnville Fire Department, and Hampton County EMS. The Parris Island Marine Corps Air Station canine unit and two agents from the State Law Enforcement Division were also called in to assist in the search for explosives and the follow-up investigation.
SLED and the Marine dog unit combed the high school, the gym, vocational wing, parking lot, field house, and concession stands before the campus was cleared around 10:30 a.m. and students allowed to return inside.
Parents were then notified with a second phone message.
Police continued investigating the source of the call, and around 10:30 a.m. the next day, Thursday, two Early Branch-area juveniles, a 15-year-old and a 13-year-old, were detained at the school and transported to the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.
"If you make these phone calls in Hampton County, you will be caught and you will be prosecuted," Smith said.
Smith said the pair confessed to calling in the threat from a cell phone on their way to school that morning, with the main objective being to skip school that day.
Smith signed a juvenile petition against both suspects. As of Tuesday the pair remained in Columbia, but had a hearing scheduled before the school board later this week, he added.
There was a 17-year-old in the car with them, along with a third juvenile, and both reportedly advised the suspects not to make the bomb threat, but did not report it after the fact. No charges were filed against them.
"They failed to notify proper authorities," Smith added. "In an emergency like that someone could get hurt. They could have went to the principal ... and we could have ceased the entire operation."
There is typically at least one hoax bomb threat at WHHS each school year, Smith said, from students looking to get out of school for one reason or another.

Was this handled properly?
Following the incident several people contacted The Guardian or posted comments on its website expressing concerns or questions about how it was handled by school or district officials. The primary concern was that the automated rapid alert phone call described the incident as a drill.
According to a statement from Hampton 1 Superintendent Dr. Doug McTeer, Jr., here is the script WHHS Principal Dr. Barry Rosenberg read on the alert.
"This is Mr. Rosenberg at WHHS. We are conducting an emergency drill coordinated by the sheriff and local police at WHHS this morning. We estimate it will last until 10:30 this Wednesday morning. All students and staff are safe and participating in this drill. Please do not call or come by the school until this drill is complete. We will make another call when the drill is complete to let you know. Thank you for your cooperation."
McTeer said that the district was not trying to mislead people and in his statement pointed out that:
"The District does not issue ‘alerts' for regularly scheduled drills. The use of the word ‘emergency' and mention of police involvement implied something more than a normal drill. School officials were well aware that information concerning the bomb threat was being disseminated by police scanners, blogs, and cell phones. The purpose of the call was to assure parents that the children had been evacuated and were safe. We will re-evaluate the ‘alert' language to determine if there is a better way to inform parents in the future."

A team effort
Smith said that even though this proved not to be a disaster the response was a total team effort and he wished to thank all the law enforcement agencies, firefighters, and EMS personnel who assisted. He also had some special words for a few who assisted in tracing the call and tracking down the culprits.
"Capt. Anthony Russell (HCSO) helped with the entire investigation, Mrs. Melissa Polk (WHHS secretary) did an excellent job gathering information that assisted in the investigation, along with Harriett McDanields, and a special thanks to 911 Dispatchers Rosa Orr, Patricia Brooks and Linda Hopkins, they were so valuable. Sometimes you forget to tell people thank you, and they did an excellent job and I appreciate what they do."