The campus of St. James High School was closed briefly Thursday morning and students evacuated after authorities received an anonymous bomb threat, according to officials with Horry County Schools.

Tony Franks, 52, of Garden City, is accused of calling the high school saying a bomb would go off within 30 minutes, said Sgt. Robert Kegler with Horry County police.

Franks is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center and charges are pending, Kegler said.

The call was received at the school’s front desk at 8:38 a.m., according to police.

Students were evacuated while the Horry County police department State Law Enforcement Division bomb squad and K-9 unit checked the school.

Two hours later the school was cleared and students reentered the building, Kegler said.

The violent crimes section of Horry County police investigation led police to a home on Jay Street where Franks was found and the phone used to make the threat was recovered.

Kegler said the violent crimes section pulled officers away from searching for suspects in a double homicide in the Loris area to investigate the bomb threat.

“The Horry County police department will not tolerate the continued practice of bomb threats being called into and written at our schools,” Kegler said. “We will continue to utilize our resources as needed to investigate these incidents along with identifying and arresting any suspects found to be responsible.”

Contact TONYA ROOT at 444-1723.