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North Carolina students, parents on edge after Florida shooting

By Dave Faherty, wsoctv.com
By Dave Faherty, wsoctv.com

IREDEL COUNTY, NC — During the last 48 hours, police have been called to schools in our area for a bomb threat and a domestic problem.  Both incidents were resolved, but not without a lot of law enforcement getting involved.

Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell’s most recent school threat was just 10 days ago at West Iredell High School.  Campbell says several investigators worked the case.

Deputies arrested a teenager after he made comments about “committing a violent act."  They later found a 5-inch hunting knife in his car.

RELATED: Knife found in car of West Iredell HS student accused of making threats

"If it’s an active threat, we follow up on it.  We approve overtime.  If it starts at five o’clock in the evening and it takes until four o’clock in the morning we’re gonna continue on with it," said Sheriff Campbell.

At West Iredell Friday, parents told us they are thankful a student alerted authorities about the threat.  But for some, the recent mass killings in Florida raise questions about whether enough is being done to keep children safe.

RELATED: Florida school shooting timeline: 7 minutes, 3 floors, and 17 dead

"What can we do?  We send our children to school, but we don’t know it might be the last time we see them.  We pray every day," said grandmother Diane Davidson.

A father who has three young children - including two who are already in elementary school - told us he believes police need to do more to stop threats.

"If they have a list, they need to have pictures of them and have people sitting outside the school," offered Joey Lee.

Campbell says every threat is investigated and a police presence is vital to keeping schools safe.

Over the last three years, sheriff deputies in Iredell County have visited schools 25,000 times.  That includes road deputies and detectives working to establish a relationship with children even before they reach high school.

"So when they reach the middle and high school they have that trust to report crimes, understand that officers are their friends, and that’s the reason we start early," said Sheriff Campbell.

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