A 27-year-old former Westminster Academy teacher was arrested Monday, accused of sending a threatening email in February that warned of blowing up Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale. Melissa Redway now faces two second-degree felony charges tied to the alleged threat, which authorities say raised safety concerns ahead of a church concert.
According to Local 10 News, Redway sent the email to the church around 11 a.m. on February 8, and a church leader reported it to police as a threat, per the arrest report. Redway is a former teacher at Westminster Academy, located at 5601 North Federal Highway, and a former member of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church choir, which meets at 5555 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, according to police.
Westminster Academy operates as the private school of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. The two institutions share deep historical roots: the church was founded in 1960 by televangelist Dr. D. James Kennedy, and its 2,300-seat sanctuary was dedicated in 1974 by evangelist Billy Graham, according to Wikipedia. Kennedy also founded Westminster Academy in 1971 as a college-preparatory Christian K-12 school enrolling more than 1,000 students on a campus adjacent to the church, per Westminster Academy.
A Layoff, Then an Attempt to Return
Per the arrest report, Redway had been laid off from her teaching position after an alleged brain injury prevented her from carrying out her teaching duties. The report also states she later attempted to rejoin the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church choir. Redway held the title of High School Choir Director at Westminster Academy and had conducted student choral performances at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church services as recently as January 2023, according to church records.
Court records show that on February 19, the church's executive director accused Redway of stalking violence following a service. That stalking violence case was later closed after the accusation against her, per court records. The following day, February 20, the threatening email raised concerns about the safety of an upcoming church concert, according to the arrest report.
Felony Charges and Arrest
A judge issued an arrest warrant over the alleged threat on April 20. Broward Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Redway on Monday in Broward County, and she was booked into the North Broward Bureau, according to inmate records. Her bond was set at $7,500.
Redway faces charges of threatening to throw, project, place, or discharge a destructive device, along with writing and sending a threat to kill or injure someone — both second-degree felonies. Under Florida Statute § 790.162, threatening to discharge a destructive device with intent to cause bodily harm or property damage carries up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, regardless of whether an actual explosive device exists. Separately, Florida Statute § 836.10 classifies sending electronic written threats to kill or cause bodily injury as a second-degree felony also carrying up to 15 years, following a 2021 statutory update that removed the requirement that such a threat be sent directly to the person being targeted.
How Broward Investigates Threat Cases
The Broward Sheriff's Office maintains a specialized Threat Management Unit, established in 2019, to investigate threats of mass violence against schools, houses of worship, and large public gatherings. The unit works alongside a Behavioral Health Licensed Therapist program created in 2020 that uses licensed clinicians to evaluate mental health and brain injury factors among people accused of issuing targeted threats — a detail relevant here given the arrest report's reference to Redway's alleged brain injury before her termination. BSO's Real Time Crime Center also integrates live video monitoring across hundreds of public facilities to assist Threat Management Unit detectives around the clock during felony threat investigations.
Broward County has pursued similarly aggressive charges in past institutional threat cases. In December 2023, a former school employee was arrested on $1.6 million bond for issuing multiple electronic bomb threats to local schools, as Hoodline previously reported in its coverage of a $1.6M bond case. It remains unclear whether Redway's defense will seek a mental health or competency evaluation, and details of her alleged brain injury have not been disclosed. The Local 10 News report was written by Andrea Torres, who joined the station's news team in 2013 and previously wrote for the Miami Herald for more than nine years, with contributions from assignment editor Carson Merlo.
