May 10, 2023, News Release

Yesterday, Charlottesville police officers responded to Buford Middle School for a threat of violence directed at a single student. To ensure the safety of all students and conduct an investigation, the school was placed on lockdown. Dionte Tremaine Ruffin, who shared a connection with the mother of the student, was identified as the suspect in this incident. It was also discovered that the victim’s mother had children at both Charlottesville High School and Greenbrier Elementary.

Not knowing the suspect’s location at the time, Charlottesville police officers were deployed to all three schools to ensure the safety of all students for the remainder of the school day. At this time, no threats have been made toward the schools. The Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) has taken steps to ensure the safety of the family to whom the threats were directed.

If anyone has information on Dionte Ruffin’s whereabouts, please contact CPD at (434) 970-3280 or Crime Stoppers at (434) 977-4000.