photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured on Friday, June 26, 2026.

A man was charged Friday with two felonies after he allegedly threatened armed violence at a Lawrence school.

Johnny Owen Holloway, who will turn 63 on Sunday, was charged with aggravated criminal threat, a level 5 person felony, and criminal threat, a level 9 person felony.

The charging document alleges that Holloway, of Lawrence, engaged in a conversation by text messages with a woman wherein he “communicated that he had loaded guns, that he was ready to kill, and that he was going to shoot at a school to get attention.” The threat led to the Lawrence school district placing all of its schools on lockout.

A lockout is when students and staff continue instruction as normal inside the school buildings with no outdoor activity and all exterior doors secured.

The Lawrence Police Department had advised the district to take the lockout measure after a “credible threat involving a mental health concern with an individual in the community,” according to a district message shared with families.

On Thursday afternoon there was a large police presence on 26th Street west of Iowa Street. Police said that negotiators were on scene attempting to get a man to come out peacefully. They had received a call before noon stating the man was in crisis and making threats of school violence.

The school lockout was lifted at 1:15 p.m. At 2:25 p.m. police updated their post to say the man had surrendered peacefully.

The Douglas County Jail booking log notes that Holloway was arrested at an apartment at 2113 W. 26th St. He made his first court appearance on Friday. Court records indicate that his bond was set at $50,000 cash or surety and that he is next scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 16. Should he make bond, he was ordered to stay away from any Lawrence public school.