It was a a frustrating and frightening several days for Rock Hill faculty and students, with the district being subjected to multiple threats this week, school disrupted and classes having to be dismissed early.

Tracking down a suspect was no easy task, as the threats were made through use of a virtual private network and fake name, using an encrypted tunnel and hiding an IP address.

But, working with multiple resources and agencies, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department was able to announce and arrest on Wednesday, a 16-year-old student, who now faces seven felony charges.

We commend the sheriff’s office for their due diligence and ability to cooperate with other agencies to identify a suspect.

Whether threats were a prank or an actual plan, they always should be taken seriously and investigated.

Thanks to to the work of law enforcement, a normal academic environment can resume at Rock Hill and we are grateful.