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Deputies: Students brought replica gun to school

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Two boys were taken  into custody Tuesday afternoon, accused of bringing a replica gun to the campus of a Douglas County middle school, deputies said.

Under Georgia law, the students, ages 11 and 12, must be charged as if they had brought a real gun to school, deputies said.

Grandmother Teresa Couch rushed to Yeager Middle School on Kings Highway when she learned the school was put on lockdown around 10 a.m.

"Yeah, it is scary when you get a call from the school that your child's on lockdown. We don't know how long," Couch said.

Channel 2's Richard Elliot spoke to Douglas County authorities about the incident.

"We were able to locate a replica of a handgun hidden in the boys bathroom in some ceiling tile," said Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland.

Douglas officials said the fake gun looked so real, a resource officer might haven been justified to use deadly force to protect himself and students.

The two boys have been charged as juveniles.