12-year-old, 11-year-old to face charges as threats reach 40-plus NC schools
CLEVELAND COUNTY, NC (WSOC) — Authorities say an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old are accused of making threats to several schools in the western part of the state. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said more than 40 schools in North Carolina received the threats after they were repeatedly shared on social media.
Investigators believe the two wanted to avoid going to school.
On Tuesday morning, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that they were made aware of a photo circulating social media of someone holding a gun and making threats toward schools.
“I saw a person holding a gun saying, ‘Crest Middle School Dragon get ready,’” said Karsin Evans, a student.
She was one of many who didn’t go to school Tuesday or left early. One student told Channel 9′s Ken Lemon there were only seven students Tuesday in a class of 23.
“I was fearing that person would come to school and shoot up either me or my close friends,” Evans said.
She is part of a generation at grew up with school shootings as a regular occurrence across the country. They still remember the one just last week in Georgia when a 14-year-old shot and killed two students and two teachers.
The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said they were in communication with Cleveland County Schools and were actively investigating the incident. Additional deputies were also placed at school campuses in the area, according to deputies.
The Gaston County Police Department said they were also investigating the threats and deemed there was no active threat. Around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, GCPD said they identified and arrested an 11-year-old in the case. Police said the child admitted to posting the threats on social media.
The 11-year-old will be charged with multiple counts of communicating threats of mass violence on educational property.
Channel 9′s Ken Lemon also learned that the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office identified a 12-year-old accused of creating the first post before school started in the morning. They were able to use Instagram to track them to a physical address, which led them to discover the victim was a child.
