DeKalb Student Charged with Terroristic Threats

A seventh grader who brought a loaded gun to Salem Middle School in Lithonia Thursday morning is in the Regional Detention Center, charged with terroristic threats, possession of a weapon on school grounds, and pointing a weapon, a DeKalb County School System spokesman said.

The 14-year-old “evidently started waving the gun in front of two other students” shortly before school started, said spokesman Rodney Jenkins. The students immediately went to the school office and informed the principal what they saw, he said.

The principal, Donald Mason, alerted the staff about the incident. When the student was found and questioned, he first denied having the gun before acknowledging that he did bring it to school, Jenkins said. The weapon was found on the stage in the cafeteria, where Jenkins said the student had hidden it. The student was taken into police custody.

“I want to emphasize the bravery of the students who immediately went to adminstrators and informed them of the gun on the premises, “ Jenkins said. “Students, teachers and administrators have to really look for anything that’s out of the ordinary. It was extreme bravery on the students’ part to notify authorities immediately.”