An 18-year-old man is locked up in the Atascosa County Jail after allegedly making a school shooting threat against Charlotte Independent School District, a case that pulled in the FBI, Texas Rangers, Texas Highway Patrol and local deputies before he was taken into custody. Charges related to the threat are still pending, and the sheriff's office says the investigation remains ongoing.
Multi-Agency Manhunt Ends in Custody
According to the KSAT, the FBI notified the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office of the threat, setting off a coordinated effort among sheriff's deputies, Texas Rangers, Texas Highway Patrol and FBI agents to locate the man. Once he was found, he was taken into custody and held at the Atascosa County Jail, where the sheriff's office said he is also being held on a warrant stemming from a prior felony assault charge. Investigators have not released additional information about the case, and it remains unclear what platform or form the alleged threat took.
In the meantime, deputies and investigators have been assigned not just to Charlotte ISD but to every other school district in Atascosa County, the sheriff's office said. Charlotte ISD said in a statement that additional law enforcement will remain on its campuses, and deputies will continue patrolling around the perimeters of Charlotte ISD's campuses.
A Small District Under a Big Spotlight
Charlotte ISD is a small, rural district in Atascosa County serving roughly 500 students from Pre-K through 12th grade, with Charlotte High School enrolling just 137 students during the 2023-2024 school year, according to the school profile. That small scale means a district-wide security deployment like this one touches nearly every family in the community.
Legal Stakes
Texas law treats terroristic threats against public schools seriously. Under Texas Penal Code § 22.07, making a terroristic threat against a public school or municipal institution with intent to cause fear or disruption is punishable by up to two years in prison.
In August, FBI Houston worked with sheriff's deputies in Victoria to use social media tracking to identify and arrest a 14-year-old girl accused of posting online threats against her middle school, as Hoodline previously reported. For now, Atascosa County authorities say the investigation into the Charlotte ISD threat continues, and no further details have been released.
