A student was found with a loaded handgun at a Gwinnett County high school Monday, officials said in a letter to parents.
Meadowcreek High School student Clifton Curtis Woods Jr., 17, of Norcross, was arrested on charges of carrying a weapon in a school safety zone and possession of a pistol or revolver by a person under 18 years old, according to Gwinnett jail records.
In a note to parents, Meadowcreek principal Tommy T. Welch said a school resource officer first saw the student with an e-cigarette in his possession. They then searched the student and found the handgun.
“We understand that this is an unsettling situation ... weapons have no place in a school,” Welch said in the letter.
Officials have not said who owns the gun.
“It was in his bookbag,” Gwinnett County Public Schools spokesman Bernard Watson told Channel 2 Action News. “There were two rounds of ammunition in the bookbag with the gun.”
Woods made his first court appearance Tuesday. He remains in the county jail in lieu of $7,000 bond.
“This student did not pull out the gun, did not show anyone the gun, and there was no evidence he had plans to use the gun or threaten anyone on campus,” Watson said.
Woods is expected to be back in court later this month.
Meadowcreek, with an enrollment of about 3,200, is located in the 4400 block of Steve Reynolds Boulevard in Norcross.
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