A charter school near downtown Atlanta was briefly put on lockdown Monday morning after reports of a gun on campus.

The lockdown at The Intown Academy on Pine Street was lifted after a search of the campus turned up no gun, principal Gene Dunn told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“We had an anonymous report of a student having a handgun on campus,” Dunn said.

“We went into a soft lockdown so that we could keep the kids contained,” he said. “We were afraid that a hard lockdown might panic somebody if there was a weapon.”

Dunn said police were immediately called to search the campus, “and they determined that there was no weapon.”

“Everything went according to plan,” the principal said.

“We have a very secure facility,” Dunn said. “Our teachers do a good job of ensuring our students are safe and helping them feel calm and safe, and they did a great job today.”

About the Author

Featured

Atlanta art and antiques appraiser and auctioneer Allan Baitcher (right) takes bids during a 2020 auction. Baitcher and his company, Peachtree Antiques, are being sued by a Florida multimillionaire who says he paid them $20 million for fakes. (AJC 2020)

Credit: Phil Skinner / Staff