ABC Columbia
May 7, 2021 12:47 PM EDT
ABC NEWS– The Richland Two School District says counseling services will be made available for the students on the bus that was hijacked by a Fort Jackson soldier Thursday morning. All of the kids on the bus were students at Forest Lake Elementary.
One of those students and his mother shared their story about the hijacking.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says they arrested 23-year-old Jovan Collazo Thursday morning and charged him with 19 counts of kidnapping, armed robbery, carjacking, pointing and presenting a firearm, use of a weapon during a violent crime and unlawful carry of a weapon on school property.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. An Army trainee from Middlesex County has been arrested and charged with dozens of crimes after authorities say he boarded a South Carolina school bus with a gun Thursday and held the driver and elementary students hostage before letting them off the bus.
During a news conference, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the incident started at around 7 a.m. near Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army s largest basic training facility, located in Columbia. The trainee, dressed in physical training clothes, ran off post and escaped with a rifle from the installation, Lott said. Deputies then started receiving calls about someone standing on a nearby interstate flagging down cars.
CAUGHT ON CAM: Armed Fort Jackson trainee hijacked SC school bus full of children, police say
18 children from Forest Lake Elementary were on board, but are safe. Jovan Collazo boarded the school bus full of children while armed with a gun, deputies said. (Source: RCSD) By WIS News 10 Staff | May 6, 2021 at 9:19 AM EDT - Updated May 6 at 7:29 PM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A soldier in training at Fort Jackson has been arrested after hijacking a school bus while armed with a gun, police said. Jovan Collazo faces numerous charges including 19 counts of kidnapping. (Source: RCSD)
Officials say it all started around 7 a.m. Thursday when a trainee dressed in a physical training uniform took a M4 rifle, jumped a fence and left post.
Sheriff: Army trainee charged after hijacking school bus
MEG KINNARD, Associated Press
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1of3Fort Jackson Commander Brig. Gen. Milford Beagle speaks to reporters, Thursday, May 6, 2021, in Columbia, S.C. Jovan Collazo, an Army trainee, has been arrested and charged with dozens of crimes after authorities say he boarded a South Carolina school bus with a gun Thursday and held the driver and elementary students hostage before letting them off the bus. (Stephen Fastenau/The Post And Courier via AP)Stephen Fastenau/APShow MoreShow Less
2of3This image released by the Richland County, S.C., Sheriff’s Department, shows Jovan Collazo, an Army trainee, who was arrested and charged with dozens of crimes after authorities say he boarded a South Carolina school bus with a gun Thursday, May 6, 2021, and held the driver and elementary students hostage before letting them off the bus. (Richland County Sheriff’s Department via AP)APShow MoreShow Less