Gwinnett County

Metro Atlanta schools experience lockdowns after threats, mention of guns

By Ashli Lincoln, WSB-TV
By Ashli Lincoln, WSB-TV

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Berkmar High School student Sebastian Castro said there was a lot of police cars that swarmed his school Thursday afternoon.

“We were at school, we didn’t expect to see or hear about guns or being on lockdown,” Castro said.

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The school was placed on a hard lockdown after reports of a student bringing a gun to school.

“Around 2:30 or 2:40 a cop knocked on our door and told us to stay inside until the PA system tells us to go out,” said Castro.

Berkmar alumni and cheerleading coach Tijaah Harris said students told him this all started after a group of students got into a fight earlier in the day.

From there, students said a teen threatened to either have a weapon, or return to the school with one.

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“To come back from graduating in 2017 and see something like this, this can’t be my high school,” Harris said.

Since the start of school, there have been multiple reports of weapons found at metro area schools.

This week, Henry County police responded to McDonough High School after two guns were found in a student’s backpack. Police said there were reports of students hearing a gun firing off.

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At Britt Elementary in Gwinnett County, a staff member found a loaded gun in a box of donated classroom supplies. No one was injured.

Up in Rome, Georgia, school officials are dealing with two separate incidents, where students were found with loaded guns on campus.

The district said that in both incidents, the guns were not used to threaten anyone and were confiscated.

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