School Bomb Threats Plague Charlotte-Area Schools: How Do We Stop This?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Threats against schools are rolling in across the Charlotte area, leaving many parents concerned about their children’s safety. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is the latest district to receive threats. Police responded to Hough High School and North Mecklenburg High School Wednesday for a “non-specific threat.”

In Cabarrus County, officials are dealing with their third straight day of threats. For the third time in two days, students at Cox Mill High School had to evacuate after receiving a robo-call bomb threat. On Tuesday, police said a student has been identified as a person of interest in threats made at North Cabarrus High School on Monday and Tuesday. They are working to determine if that student is connected to threats that prompted four Cabarrus County schools to evacuate.

Parent Shantel Walker tells WCCB, “Yesterday (Tuesday) was a very tough conversation, obviously these lock down drills and things are part of their lives, they’re something that they are becoming unfortunately quite accustomed to, but she was scared yesterday, just she happens to be a new student at Cox Mill Elementary, and it was a lot for her.”

CMS student Jacob Dosey says, “It’s pretty scary, getting those kinds of threats, you never know what can happen.”

Students at Mooresville High School in Iredell County will return to the classroom Thursday. The school switched to virtual learning after someone called in a bomb threat on Tuesday.

The Cabarrus County Sheriff says those acts are felonies and are punishable by up to 39 months in prison.

Our question of the night: how do we stop this problem?

This episode features:
WCCB TV’s Morgan Fogarty
WCCB News Edge contributor Ashley Anderson