WATCH: Richland County deputies provide update on bus hijacking Generic school bus By WMBF News Staff | May 6, 2021 at 12:54 PM EDT - Updated May 6 at 4:26 PM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF/WIS/WCSC) â Officials in Richland County are set to speak following a traineeâs arrest for allegedly boarding a school bus with a gun.
The news conference with the Richland County Sheriffâs Office is set to begin at 4 p.m.
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Ft. Jackson trainee accused of hijacking school bus âwanted to get home,â commander says
VIDEO: Ft. Jackson trainee accused of hijacking school bus âwanted to get home,â commander says By Patrick Phillips, Adam Mintzer, and WIS News 10 Staff | May 6, 2021 at 9:36 AM EDT - Updated May 7 at 4:09 AM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC/WIS) - Fort Jacksonâs commander says a 23-year-old soldier-in-training escaped the base early Thursday morning with his military-issued rifle and wound up hijacking a school bus with 18 children aboard.
Brig. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. did not release the traineeâs name during a news conference, but said the trainee is from New Jersey and appeared to be trying to get home after three weeks of basic training.
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An armed U.S. Army trainee hijacked a school bus full of elementary school students in South Carolina on Thursday before letting the children off, abandoning the bus, and surrendering to authorities.
The trainee was stationed at Fort Jackson and left the base with a rifle at around 7 a.m. local time and tried flagging drivers on Interstate 77 before he saw the school bus, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott detailed during a press conference later that morning.
The alleged assailant was later identified by Lott as Jovan Collazo, 23, who was in his third week of training at the base. He is being charged with 19 counts of kidnapping and other crimes.
Army trainee hijacks elementary school bus full of kids
Army trainee hijacks school bus full of children
Replay Video UP NEXT A Fort Jackson trainee is in custody after allegedly hijacking a South Carolina elementary school bus with 18 children on board while carrying a rifle, authorities said. The Forest Lake Elementary students and the bus driver are safe, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference. The 23-year-old trainee s weapon did not have ammunition, Fort Jackson Commander Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr. said at a news conference, adding that the children and driver could not have known that.