NC teen charged with threatening to kill minorities could face 5 years in prison

Josh Shaffer and Lexi Solomon, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on Mar 26, 2026

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A Raleigh teen accused of threatening on Instagram to kill Black and Hispanic people in a mass shooting could face up to five years in prison.

Eric Byrd, 19, had his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Thursday, where he sat handcuffed and answered a judge’s questions with a quiet “Yes” or “Mm-hmm.”

Still in his street clothes, including what appeared to be pajama bottoms decorated with sharks, Byrd will stay in federal custody until at least Tuesday, when a judge will decide if he can be released before trial.

Byrd’s charge — transmitting a threat in interstate commerce to injure another person — stems from threats he made online between Feb. 9 and March 6, using the hashtag signal #active to indicate his plans to become an active shooter, according to court documents.

Multiple posts over that time describe his white supremacist views, desire to kill minorities and emulate well-known mass shooters, The News & Observer previously reported. Byrd also stated plans online to either kill himself in the attack or be killed by another, court records said.

In a Feb. 7 post, Byrd allegedly asked his Instagram followers if anyone knew a Black man who graduated from Leesville Road High School in 2025. The News & Observer is not naming the man to protect his privacy, but Byrd allegedly admitted to FBI agents he planned to shoot him, according to his criminal complaint.

“I know he live in my area cuz I saw him once,” Byrd allegedly wrote in a Feb. 9 exchange with another Instagram user. “He was so lucky I was working that day.”

Several posts allegedly feature Byrd holding guns, including one where he appeared to point the gun at the camera, the complaint states. Other posts featured statements calling mass shooters like Elliot Rodger and Solomon Henderson “saints” who were failed by society.

Lived with parents, had “issues”

Byrd lived at home with his parents, who told police they knew the 19-year-old “had issues,” saw a therapist occasionally and had been prescribed medicine he didn’t take, The News & Observer previously reported.

“Byrd’s parents further revealed Byrd had purchased a firearm but initially claimed Byrd did not have access to it,” the complaint states. “Byrd’s mother said Byrd loved and was obsessive about guns. Byrd’s mother claimed the firearm was ‘safe’ in the residence. “

After some hesitation, Byrd’s mother escorted an FBI (agent) to an upstairs bedroom,” the complaint continues. “The firearm was located in a blue box in the closet of what was later determined to be Byrd’s bedroom.”

Byrd’s parents also said Raleigh police had been called to their home in January after Byrd reportedly “lost his mind” when they tried to stop him from buying “something ‘stupid,’” the complaint says.

“Byrd admitted that if he had ammunition for his firearm during the aforementioned January 2026 incident with his parents, he would have ‘probably’ killed them,” the complaint states.

Purchased guns, ammunition

A search warrant for emails on Byrd’s phone later found he’d bought 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition Feb. 11, according to the complaint. He’d also reportedly purchased an AK-47 in December, though FBI agents believed he sold it after his parents grew suspicious.

In Jan. 19 texts, Byrd allegedly said he enjoyed watching people suffer and liked watching gore videos online. On March 7, he allegedly wrote, “When I die I’m not gonna OD that’s for pussies. I will put a bullet in my head or I get killed by someone else.”

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