Several metro Atlanta schools were placed on lockdown Thursday, but it had nothing to do with problems inside the classrooms. Instead, it was police activity near the schools that prompted that precautionary measures.
In Paulding County, three schools were temporarily locked down Thursday morning when suspects led police on a chase from Villa Rica, according to Cpl. Ashley Henson with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office.
Officers in Carroll County were responding to a report of shots fired shortly before 8 a.m. when they saw a Ford F-150 driving at a high rate of speed, even leaving the roadway to avoid being stopped by a patrol car, Capt. Keith Shaddix with the Villa Rica Police Department said. That started a chase down Ga. 61 into neighboring Paulding County, police in both counties said.
"Once the pursuit entered Paulding County, one of the suspects leaned out the window of the truck and began firing rounds from a high powered assault rifle at the Villa Rica officer who was pursuing," Henson said Thursday afternoon.
Paulding deputies and state troopers joined the pursuit, which ended in a neighborhood across the street from South Paulding High School and Dugan Elementary, Henson said. Mailboxes, a fence and yards were destroyed in the chase.
When the truck got stuck in the woods, the occupants ran, prompting deputies to place the two nearby schools on lockdown, Henson said. A third school, Austin Middle, was placed on a soft lockdown due to its vicinity to the police activity, he said.
Less than two hours later, four people were in custody and the lockdowns were lifted. Amanda McGee, 35; Kimberly Mauldin, 27; David Anthony Bray, 35; and Raymond Edward Messel, 29, were arrested and transported to the Carroll County jail. They are expected to be transferred to the Paulding jail for additional charges, Henson said. The suspects face numerous felony and misdemeanor charges, Shaddix said late Thursday.
In DeKalb County, Chamblee Middle School was locked down for about 30 minutes Thursday morning while police issued an arrest warrant in the neighborhood, Principal Cynthia Jackson said.
"Everything is fine, and everyone is safe," Jackson said in an email to parents.
Also Thursday, a Clayton County school was temporarily evacuated due to smoke, school district leaders said. Students were later allowed to return to Kendrick Middle School.
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