RALEIGH — On Jan. 18, Moore County Public Schools (MCPS) announced the district had received a threat to its schools which later was deemed to not be “credible” or “actionable.”
“On Tuesday, at approximately 11:40 a.m., we received a notification from the Southern Pines Police Department regarding an anonymous threat call made to a local business, pertaining to a potential school shooting,” a MCPS update on the incident stated. “However, the call did not provide specific information about any particular time or school in Moore County.”
The update said MCPS continued its typical operations but had initiated precautionary measures such as increasing police presence near district schools.
“Today, we have been notified by the Southern Pines Police Department that they have been working with local, state, and federal partners to identify the source of this call, and there is no actionable or credible information supporting the threat at this time,” according to the MCPS update. “The threat remains under investigation with the Southern Pines Police Department, and we will share any pertinent information as it becomes available.”
During the last week of April in the prior school year, MCPS reported a bomb threat had been made on one of its middle schools.
Also last May, a female student was stabbed during a fight with an apparent boyfriend at Pinecrest High School, during which the school was placed in modified lockdown for a period of time.
The student survived after being taken to the hospital in critical condition and the male suspect, who was also a student, was apprehended by police and charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
