Sheriff: 17-year-old planned attack on Columbia high school

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A 17-year-old high school student is getting a mental evaluation after Richland County sheriff’s deputies found social media posts about him planning to attack Dreher High School in Columbia.

Sheriff Leon Lott said in a news release that the teen planned the attack for Monday’s 16th anniversary of the Columbine High School attack that killed 12 students and one teacher.

A spokesman for Lott says the teen had been planning the attack for three months. The teen had not gathered any weapons, but the sheriff says the threat was real.

After questioning the teen, deputies turned him over to Columbia police, who had him committed for a mental health evaluation. The teen attended Heyward Career Center, His name has not been released.