Four individuals, three who are Aiken residents, who are allegedly connected to the soft lockdown in Columbia County this morning are currently being interviewed at the Aiken Department of Public Safety by Columbia County officers, according to Lt. Jake Mahoney.
Mahoney said four male individuals of "adult age" were stopped on Palm Drive in Aiken by Public Safety following the alleged incident in Columbia County earlier today that started with a video on SnapChat, a social media app.
WRDW News-12 reported the Columbia County Sheriff's Office said the lockdown started with a video on SnapChat that showed someone firing a handgun out of a car window.
Columbia County Sheriff's Office Cpt. Steve Morris told WRDW there was video from the parking lot at Lakeside High School. Officials said there was also a video recorded outside of the school.
Morris told the Aiken Standard Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt received a call from an unidentified person who saw the video, and Hunt called Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle.
According to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office press release, 18-year-old Aiken resident William Jeremiah Hawkins posted a series of SnapChat videos of a handgun being discharged from a vehicle.
In other SnapChats, Hawkins stated he was in Augusta, in the Lakeside High School parking lot and in Lakeside High School cafeteria, police said.
Police said no direct threats were made to any particular school, but out of caution, all area schools were put on lockdown.
One witness told police a white male in a dark colored Chevrolet Avalanche pointed a weapon at him while students were on the bus at Old Evans Road near Bobby Jones Expressway.
The suspect, police said, was tracked using a cellphone to Aiken.
The Aiken County Sheriff's Office told the Aiken Standard the individuals appear to be involved in crimes in both Columbia and Aiken counties, turning the investigation into a joint investigation.
Two other individuals in the vehicle are also Aiken residents. Those passengers include 17-year-old Aaron Lott, arrested for a burglary charge in Aiken.
Police said charges will be updated later.
Although Morris said weapons were removed from the vehicle when the car was stopped in Aiken, the Aiken Standard has not been able to confirm that with law enforcement agencies in Aiken.
Mahoney said all four individuals are cooperating with investigators.
"Investigators are still trying to determine whether the four individuals are indeed involved in the lockdown this morning," Mahoney said.
The Aiken Standard will update this story as more information becomes available.
Maayan Schechter is the Digital News Editor with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.