Juvenile charged in connection with Enka High lockdown

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Authorities have charged a juvenile after an investigation revealed that false statements led to a lockdown at Enka High School last week.

The school was put on lockdown Monday, Oct. 7, after a report from an Enka High student that another student had a weapon at school. The lockdown was lifted later that day after the school was searched and multiple students were interviewed about the report of a weapon.

Detectives with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the juvenile's home Thursday, Oct. 10.

"Interviews with school staff and other students during the week, along with other investigative information discovered, established probable cause for a search warrant to be obtained. There was no evidence discovered as a result of the search warrant being executed that any credible threats were made regarding the incident on Monday at Enka High School," a news release from the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office said.

The student, who is younger than 16, has been charged on a juvenile petition and has not been on Enka High’s campus since Monday and is not currently attending Enka High, according to the news release.

"I was extremely pleased to observe first-hand the highly efficient responses of both the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department and Enka High School administration, staff and students relative to the full lockdown procedures that were put in place," Superintendent Dr. Tony Baldwin said in the news release. "The ongoing partnerships with our first responders combined with continuing efforts to enhance the quality of response through mandatory drills reflects our school district’s emphasis on campus safety and security."

“The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office will investigate school shooting threats to the fullest extent possible, and our investigations will continue until we are able to rule out every possible threat scenario. We are committed to ensuring the safety and security of our schools,” Sheriff Quentin Miller said in the news release.