COLUMBIA, South Carolina —- Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart stated today that on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO), along with their local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, will support schools across the state as they participate in South Carolina’s 20th Annual Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. With a focus on keeping our schools and communities safe, students in middle school and high school are signing a voluntary pledge promising that they will never take a gun to school, will never resolve a dispute with a gun, and will use their influence to prevent friends from using guns to resolve disputes. Elementary school children are making a similar commitment—pledging that if they see a gun they will not touch it, they will tell a teacher or a trusted adult, and they will assume that any gun they see might be loaded.
The Student Pledge Against Gun Violence is a national program that recognizes the role young people, through their own decisions, can play in reducing gun violence. The program provides a means for beginning the conversation with young people about gun violence and encourages important conversations about gun safety and respectful ways to resolve disputes. Students from around the country will join together in pledging to do their part. For additional information concerning the pledge, visit the national Student Pledge website at www.pledge.org.
As it has done since 2002, the USAO reached out to all South Carolina law enforcement agencies and schools to make the pledges available to interested schools. The pledge effort is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national program that has been historically successful in bringing together law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
The following South Carolina schools and law enforcement agencies are participating in this year’s pledge. For information on events scheduled for a particular school, please contact the respective school or local law enforcement agency.
Participating Law Enforcement Agencies
Bennettsville Police Department
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office
City of Charleston Police Department
Easley Police Department
Lexington County Sheriff’s Office
Participating Schools
Brookdale Elementary School
Cheraw Intermediate School
Elloree Elementary School
Fairfield Magnet School for Math and Science
Julian Mitchell Elementary School
Luther Vaughan Elementary School
Marlboro County High School (9th Grade)
McKissick Academy of Science and Technology
Northwest Elementary School
Rivelon Elementary School
Sandhills Middle School
Swansea Freshman Academy
Wallace-Gregg Elementary School
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