Gwinnett County school officials increased security Friday at Richards Middle School in response to a threat made on social media.

Principal Mark McCain contacted parents late Thursday about the unspecified threat, district spokeswoman Sloan Roach said. Two Gwinnett school police vehicles were at the school Friday morning as parents dropped off their children for school.

Roach said the school did have a high number of parents who checked out their children from school Friday.

Richards Middle Schools is located off Sugarloaf Parkway, near Lawrenceville Highway.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A 1-year-old receives the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine at a clinic in Texas. Of the nearly 2,000 U.S. measles cases reported this year, 93% of those who were infected were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)

Credit: Getty Images

Featured

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC