Hall County Sheriff’s deputies arrested an 11-year-old boy Friday morning after officials found a small caliber handgun in his book bag at East Hall Middle School.
A fellow student notified administrators around 10:20 a.m that the sixth-grader had a weapon at school. “School officials and the school resource officer immediately detained the boy, retrieved the bag from his locker, discovered the loaded handgun in it and seized it,” says Hall County Sheriff’s office spokesman Derreck Booth.
Administrators placed the school on lockdown during the situation. The lockdown was lifted at 11:30 a.m.
The boy was taken into custody and charged this afternoon with two counts of possession of a weapon on school property. Booth says one count is for the loaded handgun. The second count is for a folding pocket knife investigators also found in his book bag.
The preliminary investigation revealed the student took the items at some point this week from a family member without that person’s knowledge.
Investigators found no evidence the boy made any threats to anyone in regards to the gun or knife.
The boy is expected to remain in custody at the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center pending a scheduled hearing on Tuesday.
The case remains under investigation by Hall County Sheriff’s detectives.
