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Report, testimonies shed light on high school attack

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - An incident report and testimonies released by the Horry County Solicitor's Office on Monday is shedding new light on a deadly attack at Carolina Forest High School that left one student dead.

Trevor Varinecz, a 16-year-old student at Carolina Forest High School, was killed after stabbing School Resource Officer Marcus Rhodes inside his office in the school's "F" house on Oct. 16.

In the report, a hand-written testimony prepared for investigators by Rhodes says an "anxious and agitated" Varinecz asked to speak with him privately inside his office just after 8 a.m. the morning of the attack. Rhodes says he remembers the teen insisting he close the office door before the two began speaking.

Rhodes, however, stated in the testimony he abides by an open door policy, but decided to shut the door for the teen.

As soon as the door was closed to the office, Rhodes states Varinecz began speaking about a "big spider" in a corner behind the officer. Rhodes says he glanced behind him to pacify the teen, and when he turned back around towards Varinecz, the teen had begun lunging at him with a knife.

At that time, SLED investigators say Varinecz stabbed Rhodes several times with a large, bayonet-style knife.

A witness to the incident told investigators they could hear Rhodes yelling "Put the knife down!" amidst his struggle with the student. When the witness asked if he needed back-up to contain the teen, he said yes.

Additional witnesses to the incident say they went to the window of Rhodes' office in an attempt to intervene, as the officer continued to demand Varinecz drop the knife.  That's when multiple gunshots were heard from outside the door.

Amidst the scuffle, Rhodes' testimony reveals the 16-year-old had asked the officer to shoot him. Rhodes says he shot the teen in self-defense after he could no longer contain the student and feared for the safety of others.

First responders to the scene say upon arrival, Rhodes and several staff members, including the school's nurse, were found administering CPR to Varinecz. At that time, the school was placed in a "Code Red" lockdown.

Pictures released of Rhodes' office the day of the attack show papers strewn across the room and a blue book bag that belonged to the teen. Bullets punctured the walls where the incident took place, leaving behind gaps in the concrete.

Investigators who processed the crime scene report in all, 10 fired bullet cases were removed from Rhodes' office. The DNA of Rhodes, however, was not able to be extracted from the knife by crime scene investigators.

Both Varinecz and Rhodes were transported to the Conway Medical Center, where Varinecz was pronounced dead at 9:34 a.m. Horry County Coroner Robert Edge says the teen was shot several times.

A single bullet to the chest, Edge says, proved deadly.

Following a thorough investigation by agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, investigators found Rhodes not at fault, justifying self-defense for pulling his gun on the student.

"He was putting himself at additional risk, trying to resolve this issue without having to take this young man's life," said Chief Reggie Lloyd of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. "My hat's off to him because I think he's a real hero in this."

Horry County Solicitor Greg Hembree told the press in a news conference evidence points towards the teen using the altercation as a suicide tactic.

During a thorough search of Varinecz's home, SLED agents removed a PC tower thought to contain a possible suicide note. The incident report states officers with SLED's Computer Crime Center were able to extract a file called "Trevor's Folder" that contained a document titled "My Last Words."

While the suicide note was used as evidence in the SLED investigation, the contents of the letter were not made public in the official incident report.

Dr. Cindy Elsberry, superintendent of Horry County Schools, says now that the case is closed, the district will begin working with the Horry County Police Department to put Rhodes back on duty at Carolina Forest High School.

Officials have not released a date on the officer's return to service.

The October incident marked the second time in three years a Carolina Forest High School student has died in a violent incident on the school's campus.

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