Charges pending after Charlotte-area schools evacuated over bomb threats, officials say

Four Cabarrus County schools were evacuated Tuesday morning after receiving bomb threats, and a person of interest is suspected of sending threatening notes to one school, officials said.

The individual is responsible for notes with bomb threats at Northwest Cabarrus High School on Monday and Tuesday, Sheriff Van Shaw told reporters at a news conference in Concord.

The threats turned out to be false, he said.

Shaw said charges are pending but declined to identify the person’s gender or age.

“Obviously these are students,” Shaw said. “They’re of an age we can’t discuss that.”

Investigators do not know if the same person made threats to other schools, Cox Mill Elementary and High School and Jay M. Robinson High School, Shaw said.

The threats at Cox Mill and Jay M. Robinson were phoned in, Cabarrus County Schools Superintendent John Kopicki told reporters at the news conference. An Iredell County high school also evacuated after receiving a threat by phone.

The threats happened between 9:30 and 10 a.m., and students were evacuated.

Cox Mill High School received a second threat, and the school was evacuated again in the afternoon, according to a district email to families. Students would be dismissed from the stadium at the regular time, the email said.

“We have to take every threat seriously,” Kopicki said.

“We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law if we do determine who the person or the people are that are doing these threats,” Kopicki said. “It’s not a joke.”

A lockdown at another high school was unrelated to the bomb threats, Kopicki said. The incident remains under police investigation, but it was not a bomb threat, he said.

Hickory Ridge High School in Harrisburg was locked down, district spokesman Philip Furr told the Observer in an earlier email.

The district is not considering remote learning for the remainder of the week, Kopicki said.

Mooresville High evacuation

Mooresville High School in Iredell County evacuated staff and students after receiving an automated message with a bomb threat, according to a Mooresville Police Department post on Facebook. Students were dismissed at 10:30 a.m., town officials said on Facebook.

Bomb-detecting K-9 teams did not find an explosive device, according to a news release from Mooresville Police.

All other Mooresville Graded School District campuses were put on a “lock-in” status while police investigated, the district told Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC.

‘Swatting’ reports in US

Over the past several days, schools across the U.S. have reported false shooting and bomb threats, USA Today reported on Sept. 18. One school safety expert told USA Today a social media trend could be to blame.

“Swatting” involves making false threats to elicit a large response from law enforcement, according to the FBI.

The hoax threats have caused schools in Illinois, Texas, Arkansas, Oregon and other states to evacuate, multiple news outlets have reported.

So far, no Charlotte-area law enforcement agency has attributed this week’s threats to swatting.

Shelley Lynch, spokesperson for the FBI’s Charlotte field office, said the agency has been in contact with local law enforcement about the threats.

“We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately,” Lynch said.

Shaw suggested Cabarrus County schools would see an increased security presence on Wednesday.

Observer news editor Rogelio Aranda contributed.

This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 10:34 AM.