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Juvenile charged with communicating threats of mass violence to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that a juvenile has been charged and taken into custody for making violent threats against Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. 

In a media release, the office states that it has received multiple reports of threats against two schools in the district since the spring of 2023. 

After an investigation, a juvenile suspect was charged with six counts of communicating a threat of mass violence on educational property, and one count of extortion, which are both felonies. The suspect was also charged with 13 counts of cyberbullying. 

In a statement provided to WFDD, Superintendent Tricia McManus said the charges send a message that this behavior is “disruptive and detrimental to our learning environment and the community, " and that students "must understand the gravity of their actions can have lifelong consequences."

According to the sheriff’s office, there is currently no threat to the school district or the public.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

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