An 18-year-old Augusta teen, Christopher Javiere Cabarrus, was arrested on Thursday after making multiple false 911 calls reporting active shooters at local high schools, authorities said.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Cabarrus made the false reports over the course of three days. The first false call occurred on at 6:50 a.m. Monday when Cabarrus reported an active shooter at T.W. Josey High School. He followed up with a second false report on at 11:58 a.m. Wednesday, and a third at 6:04 a.m. Thursday, this time claiming there was an active shooter at Lucy C. Laney High School.
Following an investigation, Cabarrus was arrested and charged with three counts of felony false public alarm. He was transported to the Charles B. Webster Detention Center for booking and processing.
The calls caused chaos for the schools and community, with rumors spreading and lockdowns required as law enforcement worked quickly to identify any potential threat. In a Wednesday letter to parents, Josey Principal Derrias Priestley said the sheriff’s office made the school aware of a potential safety threat in the area outside of our school.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we secured our school for around 30 minutes while the sheriff’s office and Richmond County School System (RCSS) Police responded,” Priestly said. “Police found that any possible threats associated with the school to be unsubstantiated and we resumed our normal schedule once we received notification that the area was clear.”
