Fort Jackson trainee arrested after hijacking school bus full of children with gun, police say
By WIS News 10 Staff | May 6, 2021 at 9:19 AM EDT - Updated May 6 at 10:05 AM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A Fort Jackson trainee has been arrested after hijacking a school bus with a gun, police say.
According to officials, the incident began around 7 a.m. and occurred near Eagle Park Road and Percival Road. The school bus was transporting elementary students to their school. All of the students and the bus driver are safe, and the suspect is in custody.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says the trainee was in his third week of training and he ran off from the base and was armed with a rifle.
Sheriff Lott says the man will be charged with multiple counts of kidnapping.
Sheriff Lott says 18 students were getting on the bus to go to Forest Lake Elementary in Richland School District Two.
“You can just imagine they were scared to death,” Sheriff Lott said. “I’ll give the bus driver credit, he kept his cool.”
During the pursuit of the suspect, multiple schools in the area were placed into lockout as a precaution.
Fort Jackson officials say they are aware of the incident and are working with Richland County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.
Richland Two School District say they are offering counseling to the children and will continue to be available to the students and the driver as long as necessary.
https://www.wistv.com/2021/05/06/for...full-children/
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