Another threat of violence has been reported at a Lexington County District 1 school. The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department announced Dec. 17 that a student at Lexington High School is charged with “making a direct threat against students at his school.”

The student posted a statement on the social media app Yik Yak that included a threat to “shoot up the school,” the department’s release states.

“The FBI became aware of the threat early this morning after receiving a community tip,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon is quoted. “Agents alerted us and we followed up with an investigation based on our standard procedure when these come in.”

District 1 shared a message sent out by Chief Communications Officer Kathryn McPhail in the wake of the threat.

“We have said several times in the last month that we take threats to our school very seriously,” it reads. “This is not just talk. We mean it.”

“A social media app called Yik Yak notified the FBI that a user threatened LHS,” the message continues. “Our district worked quickly with the FBI and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department today to track the phone number used back to one of our students. Before school even began this morning, FBI was at this student’s house, questioning him about the post.”

According to McPhail, the student has been suspended and faces expulsion.

“So far, the investigation shows the student made the threat to disrupt school and did not intend to cause harm. But again, we take threats seriously,” she writes.

The Dec. 17 incident continues a rash of threats and weapons on campus at the district’s schools.

On Nov. 29, sheriff’s deputies charged a male and a female student they said brought a gun and a knife on campus at White Knoll High School following a campus lockdown.

There were two incidents on Dec. 2 — one in which a pair of girls at Gilbert Middle School were charged after an incident involving a knife; another in which a 14-year-old student at Gilbert High School was charged after being accused by another student of threatening to shoot up the town’s elementary and middle school.

Then, on Dec. 7, a student at Pleasant Hill Middle School was charged for saying he was going to kill two students and shoot up the school.

District 1 Superintendent Greg Little released a video statement addressing the instances the threats and weapons on Dec. 8. He pointed to heightened awareness following the Nov. 30 mass shooting at Michigan’s Oxford High School that left four students dead as a potential cause for the recent uptick.

“When life altering events like this occur, it is common for there to be an uptick in reports and rumors of threats to schools across the country,” he said. “Unfortunately, Lexington District 1 is experiencing this now. We’ve had several instances of students threatening violence against schools in the last few days. And to add to that we’ve dealt with some other instances of students bringing guns and knives to our schools before the Michigan shooting took place.”

The Sheriff’s Department’s release says that deputies and FBI agents interviewed the student and members of his family at his home this morning, before he left for school.

“Deputies said the student, who was never on the Lexington High campus Friday, was motivated by a social media trend to disrupt classes during the final day before winter break,” the release states.

The incident report, acquired by the Chronicle, indicates a belief on the FBI’s part that this particular incident lines up with a national trend.

“[The duty officer at the Columbia field office] stated that tomorrow is ‘national shoot your school up day,’” the report states, “which is a social media trend and challenge on the popular app TikTok. He stated that they have had numerous false threats but that he wanted to work the threat as credible in light of the recent events.”

District 1 alerted the community on Dec. 16 about the trend.

“In case you are not already aware, there are posts on TikTok nationwide stating that on Friday, Dec. 17, there is a challenge to call in and make threats against schools in the United States,” the district posted to Facebook. “These posts did not originate from our area, but we are hearing rumors from students at some of our schools.

“We have found NO validity to any rumors we’ve heard and investigated. Students safely learned at our schools today, and our school will operate as usual tomorrow.”

After being charged, the student was released to the custody of his parents, and will appear in Lexington County Family Court at a later date.

“The safety and security of all who learn and work at our county’s schools is one of our top priorities,” Koon is quoted. “We’re committed to investigate such threats and we’ll always take them seriously.”