NORTH MYRTLE BEACH—Holy Trinity School in Longs was on lockdown Wednesday afternoon as a safety precaution after a bank robbery in nearby North Myrtle Beach.
Principal Sheila Durante said Holy Trinity, along with some other schools in the North Myrtle Beach area, went on safety lockdown after the South State Bank on Main Street was robbed Wednesday morning. Durante said the school was immediately notified by the city and also received a call from a parent who is a police officer in North Myrtle Beach.
Durante said the school sent out a notification to parents and that dismissal would take place as scheduled.
“All of our children have been kept inside the buildings and no one has been alarmed,” she said. “The only thing the kids were upset about is they missed recess. The important thing is everyone is safe.”
According to statements released by the city of North Myrtle Beach, the bank was robbed Wednesday morning by three people who fled in a car headed south on U.S. 17. They were pursued by North Myrtle Beach Police and their car was eventually disabled by stop-sticks. The suspects fired at police, but officers did not return fire. The three then fled into woods off Watertower Road and one suspect was eventually caught. As of 2:20 p.m., two of the suspected robbers were still at large and police were searching in the woods off Watertower Road, which was closed from S.C. 90 to Links Drive.
Durante said S.C. 90 directly in front of Holy Trinity’s property was open, but parents coming to pick up children might be impacted by the road closures.
Miscellany photo/Keith Jacobs: Horry County PFC Heinemann works a road block at the near Holy Trinity during the school’s lockdown May 4.
