Social Services annex shut down amid threats: The threat came inthe wake of a case that is suspected of playing a role in two deaths lastweek.

Social Services annex shut down amid threats

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Wayne County Department of Social Services Annex on U.S. 117 North was
shut down Friday after an anonymous phone call threatening child
protective services employees was received at about 2 p.m.

The threat came in the wake of a case that is suspected of playing a
role in two deaths last week.

The facility, which houses all of the county's social workers, was
closed shortly after the phone call was received.

"I don't know if you'd call it death threats," DSS Director Judy Pelt
said. "It was threats to do bodily harm to the children and the workers
with social services.

"We've contacted both the (Goldsboro) police and the (Wayne County)
sheriff's office and they're aware of the threats."

Law enforcement officials said Friday that someone connected to the
Sharon Sheppard case threatened the agency for taking the woman's four
children out of the home.

Ms. Sheppard's children, including an 8-month-old son, Rahkeim, whom she
shared with her boyfriend, Raheim Antwon Kornegay, were removed from her
home at 602 Courtyard Circle on April 20, family members said.

The children were removed after officials received reports that they had
guns in the apartment, relatives said.

Kornegay, 23, was shot and killed two days later in the apartment.

Ms. Sheppard was present at the time of the shooting and was considered
a "person of interest" in his death.

On Thursday, Ms. Sheppard, 28, was fatally shot in a nearby parking lot
on George Street as mourners were dismissed from Kornegay's memorial
service at 12:35 p.m. She later died at Wayne Memorial Hospital.

Ms. Pelt declined to say if Ms. Sheppard's case was the subject of the
threats, saying only that they were made in connection to an open child
protective services case.

"I can't confirm that," she said. "We're still in the process of
investigating the child protective services report and all that
information in confidential."

Once the decision was made to close for the day and everybody sent home
-- following the department's emergency plans -- DSS officials were
confident the situation was diffused.

"The children are safe and there were no threats against specific
workers or anything to lead us to believe they had targeted anybody
specifically within the agency," Ms. Pelt said.

Under normal operations the annex would have remained open until 5 p.m.,
but, Ms. Pelt said their hotline was open and employees were on-call in
case of emergency.





CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPING PROGRAM....

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...