School buses in parts of south Clayton County are traveling under police escort this week after a man was seen pointing a rifle at one early Monday morning.
As a safety precaution, outdoor activities at three schools -- Kemp Elementary, Kemp Primary and Lovejoy High School -- also have been temporarily moved indoors as authorities search for the suspect, said Douglas Hendrix, school system spokesman.
Parents were alerted Tuesday to the incident, which occurred around 7 a.m. Monday in the Paladin Drive and Hyde Court area of Hampton, Hendrix said.
A witness told Clayton County police officers that he saw a man "crouched down in the backyard of a residence and pointing what appeared to be a rifle at a passing school bus," said police spokesman Phong Nguyen said.
The witness yelled at the man, "which caused the subject to drop the rifle and flee on foot from the location," Nguyen said. The rifle was found at the scene.
Another witness, Codarrius Brewer, 20, continued the pursuit, but stopped when the suspect began firing another weapon.
"It was loud. It was like, ‘Boom'," Brewer told Channel 2 Action News.
Hendrix said the suspect's intentions are unclear.
"We just know somebody for whatever reason wanted to point a gun at a school bus," he said. "That of course heightens our alert."
The school system sent home letters to parents Tuesday, which Hendrix said was timely given the circumstances and the fact that school officials were only contacted by the police after school was let out Monday.
"We took and continue to take necessary precautions with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our students," Hendrix said. "Suspending outdoor activities and police escorts of buses are measures that have all been put in place."
Anyone with information on the incident call investigators at 770-477-3648, Nguyen said.
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