Man who disguised himself as a student arrested at high school in Lexington, cops say

A Columbia man who disguised himself as a student was arrested on the campus of a school in Lexington, police said.

Dylan Silber, 23, was taken into custody Thursday after he was found on the campus of River Bluff High School, the Lexington Police Department said in a news release. The Lexington 1 school is on Corley Mill Road, near the Saluda River and Exit 61 on Interstate 20.

Multiple students told school resource officers that a man had approached them asking about a student who attends the high school and had talked to some of them about drugs, according to the release.

The man was seen on security cameras outside and inside the school and was identified by school staff as a former student who had attended River Bluff High School in the past, police said.

Silber told officers that he came to the school looking for a friend he knew from social media, and that he purposely dressed in a River Bluff High School shirt, had headphones around his neck, and wore a backpack to look like he was a student, according to the release.

He also admitted to talking with students about drugs, police said.

Silber was charged with disturbing schools and taken to the Lexington County Detention Center, according to the release. He’s not currently listed on the jail’s inmate roster, and there was no word if bond was set.

At the time of his arrest, Silber was facing a pending charge from a 2021 hit-and-run arrest, Lexington County court records show.

“We are extremely appreciative of the quick actions by law enforcement to identify the former student, with the help from members of our school community, as well as to locate and take him into custody,” River Bluff Principal Jacob Smith said in a letter to parents reported by the Lexington County Chronicle. “The safety and security of our campus remains our top priority.”

This was the second arrest reported on the River Bluff High campus in a week.

On Dec. 2, a River Bluff teacher was arrested for bringing a gun onto campus, police said. Susan Horton, a 54-year-old Lexington resident, was charged with carrying a weapon on school property, according to police.

Officers said they searched Horton’s car and found a handgun in her purse that she had placed on the passenger-side floorboard.

Horton told officers she was a concealed weapons permit holder, but the gun was not in a locked or secured compartment within her vehicle as required by law, police said.