Fort Jackson officials have responded to Thursday's (May 6) incident where a trainee armed with a rifle allegedly hijacked a school bus filled with children inside. According to WLTX, the U.S. Army base's commanding general is apologizing for the impact on the young students and the community.
"For me this was a key failure in our accountability processes that I will fix going forward because this outcome potentially could have been much worse," said Brig. Gen. Milford Beagle.
According to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, a soldier in training, later identified as 23-year-old Jovan Callazo of New Jersey, fled Ft. Jackson with a rifle Thursday morning, boarded a school bus and a nearby stop and forced the driver to take him to the next town. Over a dozen students were on the bus headed to Forest Lake Elementary School.
Shortly after, Callazo forced the driver to pull over and had everyone leave the bus. He then attempted to drive the bus himself, only managing to drive a few miles down the road before fleeing the bus, leaving the rifle behind. Deputies arrived on the scene and took him into custody.
Though Callazo, who had been at the base for three weeks, reportedly had a rifle, Beagle said it was not armed as recruits don't receive ammunition until the fourth week of training. He claims the young recruit may have taken the rifle to prevent others at the base from noticing his absence.
"There is nothing that leads us to believe, through his counseling through his screening records, that this had anything to do with harming others, harming himself," said Beagle. "We think [getting home] was truly his intent, and nothing beyond that."
Callazo is facing 19 counts of kidnapping with the potential for other charges. He could also face discipline as a soldier, WLTX reports, but Beagle did not provide specific details on what that may be.
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