COLUMBIA—Cardinal Newman School held a town hall meeting Aug. 8 to discuss racist and threatening videos made by a former student.
The student, 16, who has not been identified because of his age, was arrested in July by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and charged with making a student threat. The arrest came after a parent notified law enforcement that the student had made threats to “shoot up” the school.
Police were also contacted by another parent who discovered threatening and racist videos made by the same student that were circulated in a group text message. The student was subsequently withdrawn from Cardinal Newman School by his parents.
In a press conference held Aug. 8, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said that a search warrant was executed at the student’s residence on July 17 and a number of weapons were removed. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Cardinal Newman parents and members of the community have expressed concern that they were not immediately notified of the situation. The school will address those concerns at the meeting, which will also be attended by Sheriff Lott and other community members.
The Catholic Miscellany will have updates on this story as they occur.
