CHARLOTTE — The superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools sent a district-wide letter and video apologizing to all parents and teachers in the district on Monday. It was her first public response to the shooting threats against five schools last week that were uncovered by a Channel 9 investigation. The following day, one of the schools got a new school resource officer.
“I deeply apologize that parents were not notified in a timely manner per our processes,” Dr. Crystal Hill said. “We commit to doing better.”
Channel 9 uncovered court documents on Thursday alleging Drew Owens, 31, threatened to shoot up five CMS schools via emails and a letter sent to their principals and administrators between Sunday and Monday of last week.
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Owens was arrested late Wednesday night and as of Tuesday morning, he was still in the Mecklenburg County jail, though his bond is only $10,000 secured.
“Our team met this morning for an after-action review to pinpoint the communication lapse and make the necessary improvements,” Hill said. “As both a mother and an educator, I fully understand our children are our hearts. I want to ensure that every parent feels confident about sending their children to our schools each day.”
“I also recognize that relationships can often be damaged by poor communication, and I am fully committed to rebuilding that trust within our community.”
Channel 9 asked N.C. Sen. Woodson Bradley on Friday when parents should be notified of a threat — specifically when someone is arrested.
“Well, an arrest...obviously, absolutely,” Bradley said. “Let people know anytime something happened. But I don’t want people to think there’s anything they’re missing, or conspiracy theory spin out on this.”
‘Zero trust’
Melissa Thompson is the mother of a Hawk Ridge Elementary School student.
“There’s zero trust,” Thompson told Channel 9. “They actually never told the faculty and students. (Channel 9) told the faculty and students with your news story, which then parents are sending back and forth to one another.”
Thompson thinks parents should be alerted when there is a credible threat.
“When there is a credible threat, enough that there was a police presence on Monday morning when I dropped her off at school,” Thompson said.
Thompson said she and her husband saw police on campus Monday and Tuesday before the story broke on Thursday.
“It just out of the blue, hit him,” Thompson said. “He said, ‘Oh my God.’ He said, on Tuesday, there were police on foot walking through the carpool line.”
About two hours after Channel 9 broke the story on Thursday, CMS sent a message to parents and teachers informing them of the threats.
Feb. 24, 2025 Coverage:
On Tuesday morning, CMS confirmed that police were on campus at Hawk Ridge Elementary last week after the school was threatened, and a School Resource Officer has now been assigned to the school.
“Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools does not have SROs assigned permanently to elementary schools,” a district spokesperson told Channel 9 in an email. “SROs are assigned to middle and high schools. As a result of the threats received last week an SRO has been assigned to Hawk Ridge. It is the only school that received a threat that does not have an assigned SRO.”
VIDEO: Parents question how district notified them after school threats
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