Parent arrested after incident at high school in Lexington, cops say. Here’s what happened

A Midlands high school was placed under a security protocol Wednesday after the parent of a student illegally entered the building and threatened an employee, according to the . The incident happened at , Police Chief Terrence Green said in a news release. The is on Corley Mill Road, near the .

Danielle Cato — a 34-year-old Lexington, South Carolina resident — was charged with , according to the release. Police said they got involved when officers were alerted about a suspicious person, later identified as Cato, in the front lobby of the high school. Cato had bypassed the security measures in the front office and entered the library, where she began to act aggressively toward a school employee, according to the release.



Cato was yelling, cursing, and threatening to assault the employee, police said. Information about why Cato bypassed security to go to the library and then acted aggressively was not available. Her behavior caused the school to go into a secure status and students were evacuated from the common area as precautionary measures, according to the release.

Cato followed the victim to the front lobby when school resource officers were notified and the 34-year-old parent was arrested Wednesday afternoon, police said. No injuries were reported. Cato was taken to the , jail records show.

She remains locked up and is scheduled to appear in a bond hearing Thursday morning, officials said. If convicted on the misdemeanor disturbing schools charge, Cato faces a , according to South Carolina law. The maximum punishment for the misdemeanor third-degree assault & battery conviction would result in .

.