Principal: Gwinnett eighth-grader brought guns on campus

A Gwinnett County middle school was placed on lockdown Tuesday after school officials determined an eighth-grader brought guns onto the campus.

The situation began when two students left Five Forks Middle School in Lawrenceville, principal Christine Douthart said in a statement. Officials began a search and contacted the students’ parents. After the students returned to campus, school officials became aware that “several” weapons were missing from the home of one of the students, Douthart said.

When the principal asked that student about the missing weapons, he became “confrontational” and left the room, leaving his book bag in the office, she said. Two guns were found in the bag. Douthart did not say if the guns were loaded.

Both students face disciplinary action from the school, she said.

The principal said that having weapons at school is “a serious offense, one that we are taking very seriously.”