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ANDERSON, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Anderson County Sheriff has strong words for the “lowlife scum” behind a series of fake active shooter calls placed across South Carolina on Wednesday.
Robert Anderson Middle School was one of the numerous schools across the state that was the victim of a hoax. Investigators said someone, possibly from a foreign country, called in fake active shooter threats in more than a dozen counties.
Sheriff McBride said deputies treated the threat like it was real until they cleared the entire building.
“I hope that parents know, especially in Anderson County: You will never see a response like we saw in Uvalde, Texas,” the sheriff said. “That is something you will never see. Whether there is one of us responding or 300 of us responding, if there is a legitimate situation like this at a school, we’re gonna take ‘em out by any means necessary. They will not survive an encounter with us if they harm our children, I can assure you that. And I hope it’s that way across the whole state of South Carolina.”
The sheriff said some of his deputies have children that attend Robert Anderson Middle School. He called it a “ridiculous amount of wasted time and effort” but said everyone was determined to protect students no matter what.
A viewer sent FOX Carolina a picture of the crowd of parents trying to pick up their children during the incident.
A suspect in the fake calls has not yet been identified, but local law enforcement, SLED and the FBI are all investigating.
Sheriff McBride said he imagines the suspect is a “lowlife scum probably sitting in his underwear in his grandmother’s basement looking to have a good time trying to cause fear and panic with everybody.”
“But I can tell you, whether it’s false or not or a hoax or not, we’re still going to respond,” McBride said.
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