WINDSOR – Just two weeks since hosting a regional event on school safety at Bertie High School, Bertie County Sheriff John Holley said a possible threat of mass violence at the school was averted thanks to the alert work of law enforcement officials.

Holley said on Oct. 29, Bertie High School Resource Officer Sgt. Bonnie Powell contacted Bertie Sheriff’s Office Lt. Matt Roebuck late in the evening that a threat of mass violence had been phoned into the school from a juvenile that attends Bertie High School.

Lt. Roebuck contacted the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation with the information provided and agents were able to quickly determine it was a juvenile who was making the threat, and the officers were able to find a location of residence.

Powell and BCSO Detective Ronald Rascoe were then dispatched to the juvenile’s home. As a result of the investigation, Powell said because of the age of the suspect involved, the juvenile will be charged by petition for threat of mass violence on educational property.

“The quick response to this threat by the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina SBI along with other resources prevented the juvenile from actually attending school that day and carrying out the threat to shoot students and staff,” Holley said.