High school football player charged with kidnapping in on-campus incident, NC cops say
.jpg "A high school football player was among three charged in an on-campus incident, North Carolina officials said.")
A high school football player is facing a kidnapping charge after an on-campus incident in Western North Carolina, officials said.
Two other people — both juveniles — also have been charged in the case, according to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspects were arrested after officials said an incident unfolded at North Buncombe High School in Weaverville, roughly 10 miles north of Asheville. The sheriff’s office in a news release didn’t share additional details about the incident but said the school no longer faced a threat.
In a statement posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook page, Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Tony Baldwin said he learned about the investigation on Feb. 15.
“We are fully cooperating with law enforcement at this time,” Baldwin wrote. “We appreciate this partnership and collaboration as we focus on the safety of our school community. We want to reiterate that there is no active threat to our staff or students.”
While officials said they couldn’t share information about the juveniles, they identified one of the people facing charges as 18-year-old Bryson Josiah Peters. He’s a North Buncombe student and is charged with first-degree kidnapping and attempted first-degree sex offense.
Officials in their release didn’t share attorney information for Peters.
He’s listed as a senior who plays halfback and linebacker for his school’s football team, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times and the MaxPreps website.
“The Sheriff’s Office will conduct a full and thorough investigation into this incident,” Sheriff Quentin Miller said in his department’s Feb. 15 release. “Thank you to our Detectives for quickly progressing this investigation over the past 24 hours.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 8:49 AM with the headline "High school football player charged with kidnapping in on-campus incident, NC cops say."
