ORANGEBURG, S.C. — After several hours, families were finally reunited with their children following a shooting at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School that wounded three students on Wednesday.
“Our goal here, and I know it takes a long time, is to make sure that we’re able to deliver every single child to their parent,” said Orangeburg County School District Superintendent Shawn Foster.
Parents waited in the sweltering heat for several hours to finally be reunited with their children following the shooting. The wait was due to children being documented as they evacuated the school, according to officials.
“I thank God my baby’s alright. You know what I mean?" said Orangeburg-Wilkinson parent Kelvin Gatson. "And I know a lot of these mamas and these daddies, they thank God their babies are alright.”
Parents were reunited no more than ten at a time. Some by car and others by foot.
Foster applauded the faculty for helping to make the reunion as smooth as possible.
“We are extremely thankful for the faculty, staff, and the students in this community. And we’ll continue to come together and work through this situation to continue to ensure a high quality education for all of our students,” he said.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said if it weren’t for the quick thinking of the faculty in keeping students safe, the outcome could have been far worse.
“Because of their quick action and the things they did out there at the school today, I believe that that saved lives and other students being injured,” Ravenell said.
Ravenell said they have one person in custody, and the investigation is ongoing.
Orangeburg State Representative Jerry Govan said there is still work to be done.
“I think that what you see happening is that we need to work more with our young people to give them the appropriate alternatives to violence, in terms of solving problems. And it’s not gonna happen overnight,” he said.
Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School has posted the Superintendent's full statement on its website. School will be closed to students for the rest of the week, and counseling will be available for student, staff and families.