COLUMBIA, S.C. — A second student at Cardinal Newman is no longer at the school over a series of racist videos that have sparked outrage from parents, the community, and people outside of the state.
The disclosure came during a forum held by the school with parents Thursday night, nearly a week after it first became known to the broader public that a student had been arrested for making a threat against the school.
During the meeting, Cardinal Newman Principal Robert Loia said that the second student had been expelled. He did not say how the student is connected to the videos.
Last month, deputies say a 16-year-old male student created videos where he used racist language and shot a box of shoes that he pretended was a black person. The videos were eventually discovered by school administrators in July. On July 17, Richland County deputies were made aware of a communication where he allegedly said he wanted to 'shoot up the school' He was arrested that day on a charge of making student threats, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. About 20 guns were also seized from his home.
Because he's a minor, what's happened to him legally since then is unknown. It's also been confusing as to how he was dismissed from the school. At first, it was reported that he was expelled on July 15. However, earlier this week, the school clarified that he was going to be expelled, but was allowed to withdraw. But Thursday night, Loia said the boy's record from the school will now reflect that he was expelled.
The school also told parents Thursday they will have added security for the first two weeks when classes resume later this month, and they'll also work with law enforcement to conduct active shooter drills. They also plan to address other concerns, including having diversity training and bringing in guest speakers to address issues of racism and injustice with students.
A statement from Loia released after the town hall meeting said, "As the Principal, and leader of our family here, I promise that I will do everything in my power to address the concerns raised in tonight’s town hall. We heard your voices; and let us show you our support through our actions. We will continue to investigate and assure you the investigation will be thorough." The statement went on to say, "The videos are evil, disgusting and wrong. I have never seen anything like this in my nearly three decades in education."
The videos in question were believed to have been created in May. But on July 13, the videos that contained racist language and the student made its way to law enforcement. Sheriff Leon Lott said they were shown those videos, but there were no charges they could bring at that time.
"There's no state law which would have allowed us to make an arrest on those videos," Lott said.
Because the suspect is a juvenile, Lott said state law prevents him from saying much about the case. But he did confirm that the case is still open. When asked if he was looking into who recorded the videos, or if any adults could be charged, he said "we're still investigating."
Lott also called on South Carolina lawmakers to create a state hate crime law, which might make it easier to bring charges in these types of cases.