Adult brandishes weapon at school bus stop

SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - Fulton County School police flanked a bus stop in the Walden Park neighborhood Wednesday afternoon as students from Langston Hughes High School de-boarded.

This comes one day after “an adult approached bus 4225...and brandished a weapon while the bus was at a stop," the school district wrote in a statement to FOX 5. "The FCS and the City of South Fulton police were on the scene and ensured students arrived safely to their homes."

Walden Park resident Elaine Lambert said she talked to students who were on the bus.

"They were frightened, I would have been frightened myself," Lambert said.

Authorities would not divulge the exact location of the bus stop, but Lambert said she saw police swarm Renaissance Circle on Tuesday.

"It was quite a few police officers who stopped in front of the house, and they rang our doorbell also, but we didn't know what was going on until we were told," Lambert said.

Many residents were shocked to learn of the adult's actions in their typically quiet and well-to-do neighborhood.

"There’s other kids out there, your weapon could go off accidentally and hurt or kill someone, that’s just crazy," resident Sharon Burgess said. "I can’t even believe that happened."

"We all see it on the news all the time, crazy things can happen when a weapon is exposed," said Steve Billups. "Anything can happen."

It remains unclear why the person pulled out a weapon, but Lambert said a student on the bus told her it stemmed from a bullying incident. 

Langston Hughes High School Principal Charles Chester encouraged students to reach out to staff members if they ever feel unsafe. Chester continued in his note to student parents that "students and the bus driver reacted quickly and we are proud of the way they responded with courage."

While school police and city police responded to the incident on Tuesday, the City of South Fulton Police will be taking the lead on the investigation.