Northgate High School student found with firearm on campus, prompting immediate response

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A Northgate High School student was found with a firearm on campus Monday afternoon. 

That prompted an immediate response from school administrators and law enforcement, officials confirmed.

What we know:

According to a letter sent home to parents and guardians from Northgate High School Principal Dr. Ashley Wilkes, school administrators received a report at around 3 p.m. that a student may have had a firearm on campus earlier in the day. The school’s administration and a Coweta County Sheriff’s Office school resource officer quickly located the student and removed him/her from contact with others without incident. A handgun was later found in the student’s vehicle in the student parking lot.

According to the information provided to Northgate staff and school resource officers, the student had allegedly shown the firearm to another student inside a school locker room earlier that day. However, this was not reported until later in the afternoon.

What they're saying:

Shortly after the student was removed from the area, an unrelated Code Red alert was issued on campus at 3:34 p.m. during dismissal, causing confusion. "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 wrote in a message to parents. "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. "It is our goal to always be proactive when the safety of students is concerned and to be transparent with our parents and stakeholders if an incident occurs."

What we don't know:

The name and age of the student have not been released.

The type of gun was not disclosed.

What we don't know:

The incident remains under investigation, and "appropriate legal consequences will follow," the school said.