Multiple School Shooting Threats Made by South Carolina Man: DOJ

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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A South Carolina man has been arrested after making multiple threats of shooting up schools in Anderson County, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The District of South Carolina's U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed on Friday that 22-year-old Jonathan Trent Patterson, a resident of Belton, has been charged in a federal complaint for electronically transmitting multiple shooting threats relating to several schools in the county. The office did not share the details of the threats made by Patterson, but clarified that no harm had been incurred.

The arrest comes a little over a week after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead. The Uvalde massacre was the deadliest school shooting in the United States since Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, in which twenty children and six adults were killed.

School shooting protest
A 22-year-old in South Carolina has been arrested for making multiple shooting threats against several schools in Anderson County. In this photo, students participate in a school walk-out and protest in front of the Los... RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images

"I want to first let everyone in the Upstate know that we are not aware of any physical harm that occurred as a result of these threats, and the suspect is in custody and thus at this time does not pose a danger to the community," said U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis in a statement shared by the DOJ.

"While these charges speak for themselves, this office aggressively investigates and, where appropriate, prosecutes threats of violence and acts of violence. This is especially true when anyone threatens harm against our schools, and recent events confirm these threats must be taken seriously," Ellis added, thanking the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride for their help in the arrest of the Belton man.

The FBI and Homeland Security officials are assisting the investigation on the case by Anderson County Sheriff's Office. Patterson is expected to appear in court in front of a judge on Friday at 2:30 p.m. local time.

School Shooting Threats Continue After Uvalde

Greenville, South Carolina news station WYFF reported that there have been several threats in Anderson County over the past two weeks, the most recent on May 28.

The threat prompted a message that was sent to the families of students at Wren Middle School, Wren High School and Concrete Primary School in Anderson School District One. A parent of one of the students of these schools said the message alerted family members of increased police presence on campus due to threats, according to the WYFF.

Threats made Tri-County Technical College in Anderson County cancel classes on May 27 and reopened on May 30. The college published a statement on May 31:

"Tri-County Technical College Police, the Anderson County Sheriff's Department, FBI and Homeland Security continue to investigate threats made against the College in recent weeks. As a result of the investigation, we learned today that a number of other schools in Anderson County received similar threats over the weekend. Members of law enforcement have said that none of the threats have been deemed credible; rather, they believe the threats to be nuisances aimed at causing disruption.

"Based on their assessment, we are taking a phased approach to resuming normal operations. This means that we will gradually reduce the number of non-TCTC law enforcement officers on our campuses over the next three days, and building entrances will be unlocked beginning Friday, June 3. Student and employee safety remains our top priority, and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement as their investigation continues."

Correction 06/03/22, 2:27 p.m. ET: This article was corrected to reflect that Tri-County Technical College canceled classes for one day.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more