A Charlotte man indicted on five felony counts for allegedly threatening mass shootings at five area public schools was released from jail on Aug. 22, just three days before students were set to return to classes at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Drew Andres Owens, 33, was released from the Mecklenburg County Jail at 11:30 a.m., according to jail records.
Owens was indicted in March 2025 by a Mecklenburg County grand jury on five counts of communicating threats of mass violence on educational property. He has pleaded not guilty, and the cases are ongoing. 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. Court documents indicate these messages included threats to "slaughter staff and students."
A separate indictment involves a mailed threat against Garinger High School, alleging that a student, described as being 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 at the school.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Owens' father, Darryl Owens, a West Charlotte High School ROTC instructor, told police he believed his son was responsible for the threats. The father stated that Drew Owens had harassed relatives, neighbors, and family friends after being removed from the family home in 2021 and had sent anonymous emails and letters threatening to kill or shoot people at various locations. Darryl Owens also informed authorities that he had previously obtained a restraining order against his son, that Drew Owens had been arrested for violating it, and that the order was later dismissed. He also reported that his son had recently sat outside neighbors' homes and photographed his car at West Charlotte High School in an attempt to lure him outside.
Court records show that the bond for the four-school case was initially set at a $135,000 secured bond with electronic monitoring in February 2025. This amount was reduced to $60,000 on May 1, 2026. The separate case related to Garinger High School had a $15,000 secured bond. Owens met the court-ordered pretrial bond conditions, and a professional surety posted the $60,000 bond on the preceding Friday night, leading to his release.
Owens' record includes prior arrests for resisting arrest and shoplifting, according to WSOC. It is not immediately clear if Owens has legal representation.
Following Owens' release, some parents expressed anxiety about sending their children back to school. "Is he going to show up at one of the schools? It’s not good," one parent told WSOC. "I’m not going to feel at ease, I’m not going to pretend it’s OK." Another parent questioned the reduction in the perceived threat level, stating, "In this situation it’s confusing because he had a $200K bond. He’s clearly a public safety threat, so what took the threat level down?"