A Thursday morning dispute involving two parents at a Mint Hill school drop-off area ended with a 37-year-old woman being arrested after police said she followed another driver and displayed a handgun.
The incident began during student drop-off at the Mint Hill school campus, according to the Mint Hill Police Department and an arrest affidavit. Police said the two women were involved in a verbal altercation before leaving the school property.
Investigators allege the woman later followed the other driver onto Idlewild Road. The driver told an officer directing traffic that the woman had brandished a firearm and was following her.
According to the affidavit, the suspect had been dropping off her children when she believed the other driver had attempted to run her off the road. After the two vehicles left the school area, she allegedly took a .38 Special handgun from her glove compartment and displayed it while passing the other woman.
The affidavit says the gun was later placed on the front passenger seat.
Police responded at about 8:15 a.m. after the other driver reported the incident to an officer near the 10,300 block of Idlewild Road. Officers located the suspect’s vehicle and stopped it.
Investigators said they found the firearm inside the vehicle and determined that it had been brought onto school property during the morning drop-off. A reported that the gun was not displayed while the suspect was on school grounds, but police said she still possessed it there.
The affidavit also alleges that, before getting out of her vehicle, the woman pointed the gun toward her own head and directed the action so the other driver could see it as a threat.
Mint Hill police identified the woman as Jodie Rinehart. Mecklenburg County jail and court records, however, list her as Jodie Abrams. She faces a felony charge for possession of a weapon on educational property and a misdemeanor charge of communicating threats.
Abrams was booked into the Mecklenburg County Jail and was released after posting a $50,000 bond, according to court records and local reports. Her first court appearance took place Friday.
Mint Hill Middle School Principal Nakia Gamble told parents that students and staff were safe following the incident. WSOC also reported that both women involved were parents of students at the school.
The school campus is connected to Idlewild Road, where the confrontation continued after the vehicles left the drop-off area. Police have described the case as a road-rage incident involving a firearm.
The charges are allegations, and the case remains pending in Mecklenburg County court.
