FROM STAFF REPORTS

A teenager faces several charges, including armed robbery and threatening mass violence at a place of worship, following an investigation by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Darren Campbell said a 16-year-old male, whose name and address were withheld because he is a juvenile, was placed in secure custody.

On Friday, February 2, ICSO deputies were dispatched to Bethlehem Methodist Church, located at 607 Bethlehem Road in western Iredell County, after receiving a report of an attempted robbery, Campbell said in a news release.

When deputies arrived at the church, they located a victim who said an individual had approached him and said, “Give me everything in your pockets,” while pointing a gun at him, the sheriff said.

The victim refused to give the gunman anything and told the suspect to leave the area.

When the gunman realized he wasn’t getting anything from the victim, he stated, “I will come back and shoot up the whole church,” before fleeing on foot, the sheriff said.

Additional deputies started searching the area for the suspect. After talking with several people, deputies identified the suspect as a juvenile who lives in the area, according to the news release.

Deputies and detectives went to the home of the juvenile and determined that he matched the description given by the victim, the sheriff said.

When deputies tried to detain the juvenile, he became very combative, tried to run from deputies, and then spit in the face of one of the detectives, according to the news release.

The juvenile was charged with felony robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony communicating threats of mass violence, and malicious conduct by a prisoner. He was transported to the Alexander County Juvenile Detention Center.