A 14-year-old South Carolina high school student is charged with threatening a school shooting just days after an Oxford, Michigan, high school student was charged with fatally shooting four students and wounding several others.
According to the Lexington County, South Carolina, Sheriff's Office, the unnamed Gilbert High School student made a ''threatening statement'' on a bus Dec. 2 that was overheard and reported to police by another student.
The student allegedly said he planned to wear a trench coat and go to both the elementary and middle school in the district and ''shoot them up.''
''The student who came forward should be commended for doing the right thing,'' Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in a press release Monday. ''They heard something and reported all the details to someone who could immediately step in and take action to make sure everyone stayed safe.
''While there was never any imminent danger to students, teachers, or anyone else on campus, this is another example of how we, and Lexington School District One share in the responsibility to protect those who learn and work at the school.''
In a statement from the Lexington School District One to Fox News, officials said they were proud of the student who came forward.
"We are proud of the student who came forward to report the threat," the district said. "This situation is another example of how we must work together to keep each other safe. We take threats seriously and take swift and stern action against those making threats against our schools."
The district told the news organization that the student is suspended and faces expulsion.
The male student was released to the custody of his parents and will appear in the county's family court later, according to the release.
The incident comes less than a week after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley allegedly entered Oxford High School in Michgan and allegedly shot four students to death and wounded six others, including a teacher, Fox News reported.
Crumbley is charged as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes.
Police also charged Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, with involuntary manslaughter in connection with not doing enough to prevent the mass shooting, The New York Times reported Dec. 3.
Police arrested both parents into in a Detroit commercial building Saturday morning after they disappearing Friday afternoon, sparking a manhunt that included the Oxford County's fugitive apprehension team, the FBI and U.S. marshals, the Times report said.
A family attorney said that they left town out of fear for their safety after the shooting, and had planned to return for their arraignment, but a miscommunication with the prosecutor's office led to confusion.
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