Updated 4:35 p.m. 10/10/2017
Sterling Elementary in Pineville was closed today because police say a fugitive from Michigan threatened to kill a school employee. CMPD arrested Isaac Burch Monday after the department received information that Burch was headed to North Carolina and threatened to kill his wife who works at the school. CMPD located a truck Burch had been driving outside a hotel and took him into custody Monday. CMS says it closed Sterling Elementary out of an abundance of caution. The school will re-open tomorrow.
Updated 3:32 p.m. 10/10/2017
Sterling Elementary School in Pineville will reopen Wednesday after the school was shut down Tuesday due to a "possible safety threat."
CMS has been tight-lipped as to the exact nature of the threat. A statement sent to parents Monday night said the school was being closed "after consultation with law enforcement authorities in an ongoing investigation." The statement did not give the nature of the investigation. A spokesperson for the school district said only that multiple law enforcement agencies were involved and that the school was being closed as a "precautionary measure."
Later Monday night, CMS said one person had been taken into custody in connection with the investigation, but did not detail who that person was or the conditions surrounding their arrest.
Parentstold television station WBTVthat they received phone calls from the school last week that referenced an out-of-state threat that police were investigating.
CMS sent out a tweet Tuesday at 12:12 p.m. that said the school would reopen the following day, adding that the "potential safety threat has been contained by law enforcement."