Teen arrested after classmate learns of loaded gun in his backpack
Marietta High School administrators were alerted by another student and police were called in
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A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Georgia for allegedly bringing a loaded handgun to school.
A classmate of the minor alerted school administrators at Marietta High School on Thursday morning after learning that the suspect carried a weapon inside his backpack. School resource officers then arrested the teen at about 9.30am.
He was booked into the Marietta Regional Youth Detention Center and charged with possession of a firearm on school property and possession of a firearm in commission of a crime. Marietta police said they recovered a loaded Glock 19 handgun.
“Administrators acted swiftly and notified the [school resource officers]. The student was taken into custody inside a classroom without incident,” the police department said in a statement. “Every parent hopes that if presented with a situation like this their child will be brave enough to report the incident immediately, and that is exactly what transpired this morning.”
“Due to the reporting student’s bravery and swift decisive actions by the administration and SROs, the incident was resolved without injury,” the statement continued.
The school was briefly placed on a “hold”, Marietta High School Principal Marvin Crumbs said in a letter obtained by 11 Alive.
“The student in question was immediately detained by MPD and, upon search of a backpack, a loaded gun was discovered,” Mr Crumbs wrote in the letter addressed to parents.
Mr Crumbs also praised the student who raised the alarm about the weapon, noting that a potential tragedy had been averted.
“I commit to you that we will continue to make safety our highest priority,” Mr Crumbs added. “Every day we work collaboratively with MPD to make sure that we have the appropriate safety measures for all our MCS schools — we will continue this partnership for the safety of our staff and students.”