An 8th-grade student was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after a loaded handgun was found in his backpack at Austin Middle School in Paulding County.
"Administrators at Austin Middle School were made aware of a student with a loaded handgun," said Suzanne Wooley, Director of Communications with the Paulding County School District in a statement released late Wednesday. "The student is in custody and the Paulding County Sheriff's Department is investigating."
According to Wooley, the gun was found and the student was taken into custody at dismissal time, so the school was not placed on lockdown as a result of the incident.
Paulding County Sheriff's Corporal Ashley Henson said once the student was taken into custody, he was transported to the Regional Youth Detention Center in Marietta.
Wooley said parents were notified immediately about the incident.
