2 students charged in making threat at Carolina Forest HS. 4th bomb threat made Friday

Two local students have been charged with communicating a school threat in relation to a bomb threat that was made late Thursday to Carolina Forest High School.

Horry County Police spokesperson Mikayla Moskov said by email that an overnight investigation Thursday resulted in the students being charged, issued a juvenile summons, and transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.

“Their actions created further worry, unrest, and misinformation in our community,” Moskov said in a press release.

Carolina Forest High School received another bomb threat Friday while school was in session. This is the fourth bomb threat the school received in the last three days, prompting the school to take additional security measures to make sure the school and campus are safe.

Officers were already at the school Friday because of a threat that was received late Thursday evening, according to Horry County Schools spokesperson Lisa Bourcier said by email. Additional security officers were placed at the school overnight Thursday.

After a search was completed, it was determined that both calls were a hoax, Moskov said. No one was injured and Moskov assured that students and staff are safe.

“That said, significant resources have been expended this week for threats that ultimately proved to be fake, some created by local individuals and some by foreign parties,” she said.

Bourcier said Horry County Police conducted another sweep of all the buildings Thursday and that there would be additional police officers on and around the campus throughout the day Friday. The school is operating on normal schedule Friday, Bourcier said.

“We hope this will bring some comfort in light of these challenges and ensure a smooth transition into the weekend,” Bourcier said by email. “We realize these incidents have caused frustration to our students, their parents, and our staff. Please understand that we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to maintain a safe environment for everyone.”

Parents have taken to social media to express their concerns about the situation. Posts indicated that parents came to pick up their children early and that others were scared as police came into the school with weapons drawn and in full “active shooter gear.”

The latest threat comes after the school received another bomb threat during the school hours Thursday, which resulted in law enforcement officials believing there was an active shooting incident at the school.

The school received the threat about 10:25 a.m., which was similar to the threat received on Wednesday, according to Horry County Police spokesperson Mikayla Moskov by email.

However, at the same time, Horry County and Myrtle Beach 911 dispatch centers received calls for service that indicated an active shooter may be on campus. Numerous officers were dispatched to the school in what was believed to be a potential active threat, Moskov said.

Students were told to remain in their classrooms, and law enforcement took defensive actions, including securing portions of campus and conducting sweeps of the buildings using K9s and bomb techs, Moskov said.

It was determined that Thursday’s threat was a hoax, often referred to as “swatting,” Moskov said. Swatting is when a person makes a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring a large number of officers to a particular address. The calls were tracked back to an internet server in India, which has been linked to other recent school threats across the country, Moskov said.

Moskov said additional misinformation about the hoax calls was generated by Artificial Intelligence programs and shared by social media.

Moskov said the bomb threat received at the school on Wednesday, which resulted in the school evacuation, is believed to be a separate hoax incident.

Police are investigating all of the incidents.