Active school shooter hoax made across SC stems from TikTok challenge, officials say
by Alexx Altman-Devilbiss, Julia Varnier & Courtney Rowles - ABC 15
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — Schools across South Carolina Wednesday morning received shocking calls that were threatening and/or notifying officers of "shots fired" in the facilities.
After hours of investigating, officials explained that this is part of a "TikTok prank" where someone calls a school threatening to “shoot them up.”
Police responded to the hoax shooting reports at several Grand Strand schools Wednesday morning.
In all, there were 18 schools across the state that received a false shots fired call.
Officials with the Richland County Sheriff's Department in Columbia spoke on the hoax where Sheriff Leon Lott suggested the pattern of calls in South Carolina is connected to a "TikTok challenge."
Several students from inside Blythewood High School in Richland County posted videos to social media showing moments inside the school during the hoax.
The video shows students running from the school to their football stadium as police officers surround the building. In clips, children can be heard screaming and reacting terrified as the situation unfolds.
One video captured law enforcement entering the school with weapons in response to the situation.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) stated around 1 p.m., that they are aware of the school threats across the state and is evaluating the credibility of them.
The FBI released a statement around 2:50 p.m., in regards to the false threats as well. The release states the following:
The FBI is aware of the numerous swatting incidents wherein a report of an active shooter at a school is made. Similar incidents have occurred recently across the country. The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.
The South Carolina Coalition for Safer Schools also weighed in on the hoax phone calls. Read their statement below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 5, 2022
Across South Carolina today, thousands of students, educators, and families were terrorized by a rash of hoax phone calls reporting instances of gun shots fired on school campuses. In response, our state’s law enforcement professionals and educators put into practice the active shooter training that has sadly become a common and necessary part of life in American schools. While all reports of active shooters on campuses were fortunately found to be fake, the trauma inflicted on students, educators, families, and law enforcement officers is and remains very real.
A common desire to prevent this type of trauma from occurring provided the catalyst for the creation of the South Carolina Coalition for Safer Schools. As noted in the Coalition’s policy agenda, there is no single policy that can completely eliminate the threats and violence our children are facing in schools and communities. However, policies can mitigate and reduce violence in communities, while no policy can reverse the damage of violent acts after they occur. The calls that shut down our schools today were very much an act of violence, and this fact makes the need for leadership and proactive policy action more urgent now than ever.
For this reason, the members of the SC Coalition for Safer Schools renew our call for local, state, and national leaders to give child well-being and safety the highest possible priority in their work. We call on candidates for elected office to clearly state the actions they plan to take to combat the seemingly endless cycle of violence against children in our society, and we call on voters to listen carefully to those plans and then cast their ballots for candidates that are giving child well-being the attention and urgency it deserves. Finally, we call on all South Carolinians to take steps in their local communities to keep our children safe. So many issues in our society divide, but the protection of children should be an issue that unifies. The children of our state need and deserve nothing less than our collective efforts to keep them safe.
A statement from State Superintendent Molly Spearman was also released after the incidents:
I am very disturbed by the threats that took place at many of our schools across the state today. This causes significant disruptions in learning, and unnecessary trauma for students, teachers, and families. The individuals responsible should face severe consequences for their actions. We are especially grateful to our school administrators and law enforcement agencies who acted swiftly to keep our students and school staff safe.
We've listed out the response efforts from officials below and will update each section as information comes in.
Grand Strand/Pee Dee
The Myrtle Beach Police Dept. responded to a shooting at Myrtle Beach Middle School around 9:30 a.m.
Officers said they have checked the schools and have determined the call was a hoax and no incident occurs.
Master Cpl. Thomas Vest said Conway and Loris also received the call and police are investigating it as a SWATTING prank.
Vests said their intent was to draw a mass amount of resources. Officers remained at the campuses until they completed their investigation.
Horry County Schools released the following statement:
We have fallen victim to what is believed to be swatting (making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of first responders) calls regarding incidents at various schools, which include Myrtle Beach High, Myrtle Beach Middle, and Conway High, to date. Police are currently on the campuses of these schools, and I can assure you that all students and staff are safe. Police will remain on campus and continue to investigate the situation.
HCS spokesperson, Lisa Bourcier said schools jumped into action after learning of the threats.
"We still took it seriously and still followed all of our emergency protocols that we have at the school level, and then the calls started to come into three additional schools throughout the morning. Myrtle Beach High School, Conway High and Loris High School as well, so it was a busy morning."
Myrtle Beach middle schooler Dylan Morris was inside of the school when the lockdown happened.
"Our assistant principal Mr. Gray came on to the intercom and said, 'we are going into a lockdown' and so, at that point, I knew one of two things, it's either or a drill or it's not a drill. I could tell from my teacher's face that it was probably not a drill," Morris recalled.
Once law enforcement learned the incident was a hoax, administrators worked to put parents' and students' minds at ease.
"The school administrators were able to reach out to the parents and talk with their students about exactly what was going on to help put everyone at ease as quickly as possible once we realized that it was a hoax," Bourcier said.
While Morris is thankful this was just a prank call, he said it was an overwhelming experience.
"I was texting my mom in the middle of it, like I texted her... I about cried from how much stuff I was taking in," he said.
Capt. Mike Brandt with the Florence Police Dept. said they also responded to Wilson High School on reports of a shooting that turned out to be false. He said it appears to be in the same vein as the rest of the calls reported around the state.
Brandt said Wilson High School was the only school shooting hoax response for their department as of Wednesday afternoon.
Lowcountry
Charleston Police Department officers responded to Burke High School and Simmons-Pinckney Middle School after receiving a call about a possible active shooter.
A different location made the call. Both schools went into lockdown as they are on the same campus.
There were no reported injuries or suspects located. Police said the call appeared to be a hoax.
And emergency services have completed the clearance of Beaufort High School after a "shots fired" call was reported around 9:30 a.m., according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.
Officials stated that no gunshot victims were located during the search nor was a shooter found.
Beaufort officials said reported that about 40 officers were inside the school at one point and cleared the school room by room, as well as more than 80 first responders at the scene.
Around 2:15 p.m., Hampton County emergency officials received a call of a intruder/possible shooter at Hampton Elementary School. Police were able to give an clear for the school and locate the phone used to make the prank calls. No Intrusion or shooting took place and a juvenile is in being questioned in reference to this incident.
Midlands
The Midlands received a shots fired call at Blythewood High School and Newberry Middle School.
There was no active shooter, said officials.
Students were released to parents from the stadium at Blythewood High School.
At approximately 11:08 a.m., Newberry Middle School received notification of an active shooter on campus.
As law enforcement was responding, the on-site SRO and staff determined this was a part of the active shooter hoax.
Upstate
Deputies responded to multiple false reports in the Upstate as well.
The following schools were involved in the hoax, according to local new sources.
Greenwood High School to respond to what seems to be a false report of a shooter.
Greenwood County Sheriff's Office spokesman Josh Hood said authorities "do not have reason to believe anything occurred here," according to local news outlets.
There were also no shootings at Greenville High School, Robert Anderson Middle, Laurens High School, Central High School, South Middle and Brooklyn Springs Elementary after they all received hoax calls.
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