A Saturday night dance at South Paulding High School, intended for middle schoolers from Scoggins Middle, South Paulding Middle, and Austin Middle School, was interrupted by a scare involving rumors of a gun on campus. According to the FOX 5 report, the Paulding County Sheriff's Office sprang into action after receiving reports of a possible shooting, leading the community to be warned away from the area around 9:15 p.m.
The response initially unfolded on social media, with Sheriff Ashley Henson sharing on Facebook that the building was cleared without finding any injured individuals or a gun. In explanation of the chaos, Henson indicated an incident involving a vape among four students erupted, rapidly escalating into a false shooting alarm when a teacher confronted them, and a student began to run, trying to evade getting caught with the device.
In a separate report by 11Alive, additional details about the evening were disclosed by Henson. Security measures had included four deputies on-site, and the disruption appeared to start when one of those deputies interacted with the students in question. "One of our deputies made contact with some of the kids. At one point, there was a bit of a scuffle between the deputy and one of the kids. They took off running and went to another kid, and at this point, we believe one of the kids that initially started this incident stuffed a vape into another kid’s hoodie", Henson explained.
In the midst of the confusion, after the children were tackled and detained by some adults, a cry of "gun" was mistakenly raised, exacerbating the panic. Henson was adamant in clarifying that "there was no gun found, there was no gun seen. There was no one injured. Everyone’s safe". The school district echoed this sentiment in a statement, reassuring that although some students believed they had seen a weapon which led to a swift exit from the gym, all attendees were secure and no actual weapon was found. The incident continues to be under investigation, and parents with children possessing knowledge of the event are being urged to contact the authorities.
