The FBI has joined the investigation of a man accused of “ethnic intimidation” after he threw a hateful rock at the window of a North Carolina daycare center. week ago.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said a 911 call was made to the Marisetta Carey Child Development Center at 8:40 a.m. Monday about a kindergartener with a note “containing hate speech and various threats against children.” officers responded to a broken window call.
The rock was wrapped in a polythene bag with the words “children will be killed in the next 24 hours”. According to WNCT, police noted that the note also mentioned the killing of minorities, citing the search warrant.
Tyson Lee Korpening, a 36-year-old black man, was arrested Monday night and charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, aggravated assault, biracial intimidation, criminal damage to property, was charged with possession of a firearm. by a convicted felon and threats of mass violence against educational property.
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Korpening’s bond was set at $10 million at a court hearing Wednesday, WBTV reported.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings said evidence in the kindergarten threats case links the incident to the Nov. 27 shooting of Mecklenburg County Park Ranger Patrick O’Neill Barringer.
The arrest warrant alleges Korpening assaulted the inspector “because of his race, his color,” WBTV reported.
Shortly after 7:30 p.m., officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon at the entrance to the Friendship Sports Complex.
The Parks Department facility is within walking distance of the kindergarten.
Tyson Lee Korpe is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, two counts of ethnic intimidation, criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and threats of mass violence on educational property. .
(Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)
Officers found the parks employee with a gunshot wound and administered tactical medical care until MEDIC arrived. The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
A SWAT team and FBI also searched Corpening’s apartment on McAllister Drive.
This undated photo shows the exterior of the Marizetta Currie Child Development Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, as depicted on Google Maps Street View.
(Google Maps)
A search warrant obtained by WNCN shows that Barringer, who was interviewed while he was being treated at the hospital, told investigators he was performing final tasks at the sports complex.
The security guard said he pulled into the apparently empty parking lot in his work truck and went to unlock the gate when the suspect, wearing a hood and a bandana covering his mouth and nose, appeared. jumped out from behind the bush. The man fired one shot, hitting the ranger in the right leg, then dropped the note and ran across the park toward Interstate 77. Barringer pressed the emergency button on his radio and dialed 911 on his cell phone.
This undated photo shows a bus for the Marizetta Currie Child Development Center parked in a parking lot in Charlotte, North Carolina, as depicted on Google Maps Street View.
(Google Maps)
Both notes about the incident at the daycare and the park were written in matching handwriting on the same piece of paper, investigators said. An unloaded casing and a shell were recovered from the shooting site.
Police say they are checking all daycares in the jurisdiction.
When Korpening was arrested on drug charges in 2017, he was listed as homeless in court documents, the Charlotte News & Observer reported. The charges were later dropped. The newspaper cited court records showing Corpening’s arrests in North Carolina and Florida.