Police: 19-year-old charged after gun threat toward E.E. Smith High School

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A social media threat targeting E.E. Smith High School prompted heightened police presence and an active investigation Thursday, Fayetteville officials said.

Fayetteville Police arrested a 19-year-old man after a viral video threatening violence at the school left parents shaken and prompted a code yellow lockdown Thursday.

Travion Maurice Washington, 19, was charged with making misdemeanor communication threats, according to Fayetteville Police. He was being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center with no bond.

Parents said they received multiple calls from the school, one on Wednesday night and three more Thursday, alerting them to the threats. Some, like parent Erika Hughey, decided to keep their children home.

"Sending your kids to school every day is a Russian roulette almost. And that's really, really sad to say," Hughey said. "I was really disturbed. It scared me. (It's) just better safe than sorry. I mean, maybe he wasn't going to come up there. Maybe he was. But that's not a risk I want to take with my kid."

The video, which surfaced earlier this week, shows Washington waving a gun and making threats toward Takara James, law enforcement said. Police Chief Roberto Bryan Jr. said the threats were aimed at a minor.

"Whenever we have that type of threat, we will try to verify the threat. And by utilizing and coordinating with other law enforcement entities and then going ahead to see what we need to do in terms of verifying that threat and then also mitigating that threat," Bryan said.

Detectives vetted the information late Wednesday and took Washington into custody Thursday morning.

School officials said students who stayed home because of the threat will not be penalized.

"Their absences will be excused, and teachers will work with them to ensure they have the opportunity to make up any missed assignments. We are grateful for the strong partnership between the Fayetteville Police Department, other law enforcement partners, school administrators and our Safety and Security team, who worked closely together throughout this situation. As always, we remind our students, staff and families that if you see something, say something. That shared awareness helps us keep our schools safe," officials said.

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Hughey expressed relief at how the school communicated with families.

"It was a relief. It wasn't just like, hey, we know that this is going on and that's it. They literally kept us up to date when they got him into custody," she said.

She said the incident sparked important conversations about school safety.

"We have a code. We have an emergency code. We have a 'I'm not building safe' code. You know, text me one of those codes," she said.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Fayetteville Police thanked the community for its vigilance.

"We thank members of our community for seeing something and saying something... Your continued vigilance and cooperation help us respond quickly and keep our community safe," FPD wrote.

School officials said several students were absent on Thursday but did not have exact attendance numbers. They credited a strong partnership between police, other agencies, and school staff for the swift response.

Washington's first court appearance is set for Friday.

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