Investigators don’t believe a 14-year-old Conyers Middle School student planned to hurt anyone. But the eighth-grader was arrested after he allegedly brought a handgun and a single bullet from home to school and fired a shot in a restroom, police said late Tuesday.
No one was injured when the shot was fired around 1 p.m. But it prompted a school-wide lockdown and an investigation that lasted for several hours.
The boy, whose name was not released, was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of a weapon on school property, reckless conduct and false statements, the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office said. The boy was being held late Tuesday at the county’s Youth Detention Center.
Investigators don’t believe the boy fired the shot at an individual, the sheriff’s office said. He was detained quickly by deputies and later charged.
The weapon, described only as a handgun, was found in the school. No other weapons were located.
Rockdale County Public Schools spokeswoman Cindy Ball said Tuesday afternoon she wasn’t sure if other students were in the bathroom at the time of the shot. She said a school employee heard the shot “and then of course reacted to that sound.”
“We’re continuing to investigate this from top to bottom,” Ball said. “Clearly the message is right now that everybody is safe.”
The sheriff’s office said that students are no longer allowed to have bookbags for the remainder of the school year, and any bookbags brought to school will be searched.
— Staff writers Tyler Estep and Ben Gray contributed to this report.
About the Author
