A Union County Public Schools bus driver has been charged with posting threatening messages to Facebook targeting a local middle school.
The bus driver, 32-year-old Lashauna Hooker Beachum of Charlotte, was arrested Sunday and is in the Union County jail facing two felony charges of "making false reports concerning mass violence on educational property."
According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the messages targeted Porter Ridge Middle School - mentioning several staff members by name. The messages also disparagingly mentioned “immigrants” living in suburban areas.
The statement released by the sheriff's office did not reveal the specific threat Beachum allegedly made. The statement also said the motive behind the messages is unclear, but detectives “do not believe Beachum had the means or intention of acting on the threat.”
The first message appeared on a local Facebook page around 2:00a.m. Friday. It disappeared before being posted a second time a few hours later, according to the sheriff’s office.
Numerous citizens reported the messages to both the sheriff’s office and Union County Public Schools. Extra deputies were sent out to patrol both the middle school and suburban areas Friday.
Detectives traced the posts to a residence in Charlotte and later linked the posts to Beachum.
