COLUMBIA — On the recommendations of South Carolina’s college police chiefs, the House education chair says she intends to push next year to strengthen penalties for fake threats and require active shooter training for college students new to campus.
Those were among the takeaways Tuesday after a legislative panel heard from state law enforcement and heads of campus police for the University of South Carolina, Clemson, the College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina and South Carolina State on safety protocols and preparations.
Chairwoman Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, said she and Myrtle Beach Rep. Tim McGinnis, who led the subcommittee, initially discussed calling the meeting following a swatting hoax at USC’s Columbia campus in late August.
Last Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University made the conversation more urgent, Erickson said.
Bills introduced in both chambers in early 2024 sought to up penalties for people convicted of what’s called swatting — named for the heavy response from law enforcement, to include SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams, the hoaxes bring.
Neither bill received a hearing, and no one introduced similar legislation this year.
“But just like with a lot of things, it’s grown in its awareness,” Erickson told reporters following the three-hour meeting.
The hoax that prompted an active shooting alert to USC students — spreading fear and chaos — remains under investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division and the FBI, campus police Chief Chris Wuchenich told legislators.
Attorney General Alan Wilson has blamed an “online teen crime group” known as Purgatory, which has claimed credit for a wave of swatting calls at campuses nationwide.
It’s not just colleges, Erickson said, pointing to a private K-12 school on Hilton Head Island that canceled classes Tuesday after receiving an unnamed threat.
“Those are the type of disruptions that need a penalty,” she said. “You shouldn’t cause children to lose a day of learning and be able to do something like that and then walk away scot-free. We ought to be able to have some kind of consequence.”
When asked, the police chiefs said they support criminal penalties for people who call in fake threats, as well as making active shooter training a requirement — not just an option — for the state’s college students.
“I am a little concerned that we’re not taking that moment when kids are entering our schools, when those students are coming in, and we’re not giving them that intro to safety in the beginning,” Erickson said.
How campus police prepare
Law enforcement also spoke about how they prepare for potentially controversial events on campus.
At USC, police conduct a formal risk and violence assessment for each event with specially trained officers on its team. For speakers, the review includes what they’ve said and what’s happened elsewhere, Wuchenich said.
When the founder of the Proud Boys and another far-right political provocateur spoke at a USC student event last year, officers from state and local police departments were positioned on the ground and rooftops, as well as a command center. Drones, bomb-sniffing dogs and police barriers separated protesters and counter protesters.
Following Kirk’s assassination, the potential for a long-distance shooter has been added to the preparation scenarios, Wuchenich said.
Staffing shortage
Richard Johnson, the campus police chief at SC State since May, told legislators he needs more officers.
His department heightened security measures at the Orangeburg campus last week amid unspecified threats to historically Black colleges across the Southeast. Thankfully, nothing happened and the college received no direct threats, he said.
The college has 10 full-time police officers. But he needs at least 16 — preferably 20, Johnson told legislators.
His officers often work seven consecutive days for shifts that can stretch 12 to 18 hours. The school relies on an outside security firm for nightly patrols, he said.
“With that, it can become very tiresome, and my officers are constantly being fatigued,” he said.
The school can turn to other Orangeburg law enforcement agencies and SLED for help during special events, but he still has concerns.
“When I think about the shooting incident at Utah Valley with Charlie Kirk, I couldn’t help but think about how SC State is home to the tallest building in Orangeburg,” Johnson said.
The roof of the 15-story building provides a full view of campus.
“That’s scary,” he said. “We are in a climate that has everyone on edge … We definitely need additional personnel. We definitely need additional funding.”
SC State was the only chief to bring up officer shortages.
“I think this is another area that’s going to need our attention,” Erickson said, noting the Legislature’s efforts to stem teacher vacancies.
Other schools
USC’s police force staffed more than 630 events last year, which include football games and other sporting events, accounting for nearly 52,000 staff hours, Wuchenich told legislators. Six of those were classified as high-profile events requiring complex security measures.
USC’s campus safety office has nearly 100 employees, including more than 50 sworn police officers, according to the college’s latest report.
Clemson, in the Upstate, has 48 officers.
And the College of Charleston has 34 of its own officers, in addition to the aid of Charleston’s city police force, to patrol the sprawling campus that blends into the downtown neighborhoods on the Holy City’s peninsula.
Coastal Carolina’s police force covers both the four-year campus as well as that of nearby Horry-Georgetown Technical College, Chief Bobby Pellerin said.
“We are in the heart of one of the most rapidly growing metropolitan areas in the country,” Pellerin told legislators.
“We’ve had President Trump on campus, we’ve had governors, we’ve had mayoral debates, many other politicians, speakers,” he continued. “We will continue to have those events because of the area that we live in.”
Pellerin has 68 people on staff, including 34 sworn officers. He told legislators that’s adequate for his policing needs.
Pellerin also said the school has taken steps to boost communication with a new cell phone application.
The mobile app works two ways, allowing law enforcement to send out alerts to anyone who has signed up and allowing users to send in text, photo and video tips in the case of a crime or emergency.
Erickson commended Coastal Carolina’s safety app and said it might be a useful tool for other colleges.
Having somewhere to send videos to be vetted might have prevented some of the social media rumors that ran rampant during the USC swatting incident, she said.
Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the SC Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
The White House pays tribute to Charlie Kirk here.
