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A Charlotte man indicted on five felony counts accusing him of threatening mass shootings against five area public schools was released from jail just three days before students were scheduled to return to class.
Drew Andres Owens, 33, was released from the Mecklenburg County Jail at 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 22, according to jail records. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students were scheduled to return on Aug. 25.
A Mecklenburg County grand jury indicted Owens in March 2025 on five counts of communicating threats of mass violence on educational property. He has pleaded not guilty, and the cases remain pending.
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Four counts allege Owens sent emails on Feb. 15, 2025, threatening West Charlotte High School, Ardrey Kell High School, Community House Middle School and Hawk Ridge Elementary School.
According to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital, Owens allegedly sent messages threatening to “slaughter staff and students.”
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A separate indictment alleges a mailed threat against Garinger High School. The affidavit claimed that a student, who was armed with two shotguns and an AR-15, would carry out the mass shooting. School administrators later determined that no student by that name was enrolled there, according to the affidavit.
The warrant affidavit states that Darryl Owens, Drew’s father and a West Charlotte High School ROTC instructor, told police he also believed his son was responsible for the school threats.
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Darryl Owens allegedly told authorities that his son had harassed relatives, neighbors and family friends after being removed from the family home in 2021, and had sent unsigned emails and letters threatening to kill or shoot people at multiple locations.
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The father told police he had previously obtained a restraining order against his son, that Owens had been arrested for violating it and that the order was later dismissed. He also told police that Owens had recently sat outside neighbors’ homes and photographed his car at West Charlotte High School “to try to lure him outside.”
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According to court records, the bond in the four-school case was lowered from $135,000 to $60,000 in May 2026. Docket records indicate the four-school case had originally been set at a $135,000 secured bond with electronic monitoring in February 2025.
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A judge reduced that amount to $60,000 on May 1, 2026. The separate case tied to Garinger High School carried a secured bond of $15,000. Owens satisfied the court-ordered pretrial bond conditions and was released Saturday, Aug. 22.
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Court records showed a $60,000 secured bond in the four-school case and a $15,000 secured bond in the Garinger case. A professional surety posted the $60,000 bond the previous Friday night.
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WSOC previously reported that Owens’ record included arrests for resisting arrest and shoplifting. The local outlet did not report a total number of prior arrests and Fox News Digital has reached out to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for additional details.
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Following his release, parents told WSOC that they are nervous to send their kids off to school as the school year kicks off.
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“Is he going to show up at one of the schools? It’s not good,” said one parent. “I’m not going to feel at ease, I’m not going to pretend it’s OK.”
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“In this situation it’s confusing because he had a $200K bond,” another parent said. “He’s clearly a public safety threat, so what took the threat level down?”
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“He’s out and that’s it, and the rest of us have to deal with it and teachers have to go to school on Tuesday and deal with it,” another parent said.
It was not immediately clear if Owens had an attorney representing him.
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