A Gwinnett County middle schooler was arrested after bringing a loaded, semiautomatic gun to school, officials said at a news conference Friday.
The Duluth Middle School student showed the weapon to other students on the bus, who then reported the gun to school administrators, said Gwinnett County Public Schools Police Chief Tony Lockard.
The arrest in the state’s largest school system comes just over a week after police say a student at Apalachee High School shot and killed four people and injured nine others. Duluth Middle School is about 25 miles away from Apalachee High.
The student will be charged with possession of a weapon on school property, Lockard said. The investigation is ongoing, and district officials did not know whether the student intended to use the gun.
It has “life-changing consequences when students do this type of thing, and it’s unfortunate,” said Bernard Watson, the school district’s spokesman. “We are doing everything we can to keep your children safe.”
District officials and the school’s principal encouraged parents to monitor their child’s social media, check their bags before they come to school and lock up firearms in the home. They also ask that parents or students do not share any possible school threats that they see on social media but to report them to authorities or via the district’s tip line.
In Gwinnett alone, 16 students have been arrested on charges related to making threats on social media since the Sept. 4 shooting. As of Friday afternoon, more than 50 students across the state have been arrested on charges related to making threats on social media since the shooting.
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