NC high school moves graduation after ex-student charged in ‘mass violence’ threat

Joe Marusak
·2 min read

A North Carolina high school has moved its graduation ceremony indoors after a “credible threat” led to the recent arrest of a former student who is free on bail, school officials said.

East Lincoln High School, near Lake Norman, was scheduled to hold the ceremony outdoors but will instead stage the graduation in its gym at 7 p.m. Friday, Lincoln County Schools Superintendent Aaron Allen said a letter posted on the school system website on Wednesday.

More law enforcement than normal will be on campus, and everyone planning to attend the ceremony will be screened with an electronic wand, Allen said. “Guests are asked to keep purses and bags in their vehicle,” he wrote.

School and law enforcement officials agreed on the move and making the ceremony a ticketed event “out of an abundance of care and caution for the safety of our students and community,” Allen wrote.

“A few weeks ago, we learned of a significant and credible threat toward ELHS and as a result of the threat, the school held a remote learning day,” according to the superintendent’s letter. “The suspect was arrested by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office but has since been released from jail.

“While we are unaware of a continuing and specific threat, the move to an indoor event, although never a first choice, is precautionary and the best way to provide a safe and secure environment for our graduates,” Allen wrote.

The suspect, 18-year-old Amon Douglas Stevens, is accused of threatening on social media to kill mourners at a church memorial service for another student at the school, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

NC teen vowed on social media to kill mourners at church memorial service, sheriff says

School resource officers at the high school and nearby middle school reported rumors spreading around the schools that someone posted threats on social media, authorities said. Investigators said the person threatened to kill people during the service at a church in Denver, N.C., which is at Lake Norman.

Stevens was taken into custody and charged with communicating threats and felony communicating a threat of mass violence at a place of religious worship. He was jailed on $20,000 bail.

At a graduation practice at 9:30 a.m. Friday, each student will get receive four tickets for guests, Allen wrote.

This event will be telecast into the old gym and will follow similar guidance that other graduating classes have had to use due to inclement weather changes in the past.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s most recent COVID-19 order raised capacity at indoor gatherings to 100% and lifted social distancing requirements, Allen said,. But all participants and guests must wear a mask, he said.

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