Parents concerned after schools in Horry County did not lockdown during deadly shooting 1 mile away

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - Many parents are expressing their concerns after a deadly shooting that occurred just over a mile away from St. James Elementary and Middle schools on Thursday afternoon.

21-year-old Tyshawn Smalls was killed after being shot at a carwash along Highway 707 in the Socastee area.

Horry County police said he was driven to a Sonic Drive-In just down the street before being taken to the hospital where he died from injuries.

Nicole Biel has a son in eighth grade who attends St. James Middle School and said her son didn’t even know what had happened.

She said she found out about the shooting over a Facebook post and feels that schools are ignoring it.

“No, they’ve ignored it,” said Biel. “I don’t know if they addressed the children, but I can tell you, I received no email, no letter, no phone call...nothing.”

On the other hand, Horry County Schools said this shooting was far enough away from the schools, that it wasn’t considered a threat.

Lisa Bouricer with the school district said police also believed the school and students were not in danger.

“Law enforcement did not notify us of any particular concern that they had at any time at any of the schools regarding this particular individual or individuals that were in the vehicle that left the scene,” said Bouricer.

But, Biel, said this situation still worries her as she feels she’s lost trust in the school.

“I need to be able to trust the school because you do have my baby 7 hours a day or 8 hours a day,” said Biel. “And the fact that I do have to take him there, it worries me.”

Authorities said they are still searching for the person and vehicle involved in the shooting

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