A student at Northgate High School was discovered carrying a firearm on campus yesterday, igniting a swift response from both school officials and the local Coweta County Sheriff's Office. As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, a communication to parents from Dr. Ashley Wilkes, the school's principal, indicated that the student was apprehended after administrators received a tip around 3 p.m. of the potential presence of the weapon.
Located promptly by school administration and a sheriff's office school resource officer, the student was isolated from others. Found later, a handgun lay in the student's vehicle parked on school grounds. It was revealed that earlier in the day, having allegedly shown the firearm to a peer in the school's locker room, the report didn't surface until the afternoon. Meanwhile, the unrelated triggering of a Code Red alert at 3:34 p.m. further stirred confusion during school dismissal.
"This alert was an inadvertent Code Red alert made through our school’s Centegix system, and was not related to the student in possession of the firearm or the investigation of that matter," Dr. Wilkes emphasized in her message, as originally noted by Ground News. Dr. Wilkes further pressed the importance of reporting safety concerns, "Please remind your students to notify the administration at any time when they are concerned about their safety or the safety of others," she said.
Details such as the name and age of the student involved have not been released to the public. Additionally, the specific type of firearm retrieved has not been disclosed. The incident at Northgate High School was resolved quickly, with no reports of harm or a broader threat. Authorities are continuing their investigation.
