Update, 3:30 p.m.: A juvenile has been arrested in connection with making Wednesday morning's bomb threat at Williston-Elko High School.
In a statement, the Barnwell County Sheriff's Office said: "We would like to assure the community that every threat will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated, and anyone responsible will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We trust that this arrest will restore a sense of normalcy to the community and our school district and put anyone on notice who is contemplating similar behavior that it will be treated with zero tolerance."
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Tornado warnings in Barnwell County Wednesday morning affected the pickup of students following a bomb threat at a county high school.
The threat was made to Williston-Elko High School (WEHS) – which last spring was plagued with a series of bomb threats that have not yet yielded any arrests. According to text and social media messages issued by the school district and the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office, the school received the threat around 10 a.m.
Students and staff were evacuated to a nearby church, where parents were to pick them up. But tornado warnings issued around the same time briefly paused those pickups, as severe weather reports urged residents to get somewhere safe.
The students were bunkered at the church until the tornado warnings expired; parents eventually resume picking their children up. By 1 p.m., Dr. Marcella Shaw, superintendent of the Barnwell County Consolidated School District, posted a thank you to various police and community groups on the WEHS Facebook page. She also posted that all after-school activities had been canceled for Wednesday.
No one was reported injured and the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office did not find a bomb on school grounds.
