Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to an incident at Lakeside Middle School in Evans on Thursday morning in which a student threatened suicide.
“We responded to Lakeside Middle School in reference to a weapon on school grounds,” said Maj. Steve Morris with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. “School administration advised that one of their students, 14 years old, sent a text message to other students saying he was going to kill himself at 9 a.m.”
The Sheriff’s Office says that School Resource Officer Joe Thompson brought the male student aside and searched him for weapons. The student tried to flee down a hallway after Thompson seized two Swiss Army knives. Thompson was able to detain him and then found a Smith & Wesson M&P 40 pistol with a 15-round magazine, fully loaded (though no round in the chamber) stuffed in his jeans.
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School principal Jeremy Medlin emailed a letter to parents and guardians informing them of the incident and reassuring them that the gun was “quickly removed,” that “law enforcement was contacted immediately” and that the “incident was handled without disrupting the school day,” which continued uninterrupted.
Abbigail Remkus, the school district’s director of communications, says that this letter was also sent to parents of students at Lakeside High School, due to the proximity of the schools.
“The Columbia County School District and Lakeside Middle School takes incidents such as these extremely seriously and will respond appropriately to violation of the student code of conduct and any legal charges as warranted by law enforcement,” said Medlin in the letter to parents.
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The Sheriff’s Office informs that they transported the student to Augusta University Medical Center for an evaluation due to his suicidal threat. He is being charged with possession of a weapon in school grounds, obstruction and possession of a firearm by a person under 18. Upon release from the hospital the student is to be booked, processed and transported to the Regional Youth Detention Center.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
