Lanier College and Career Academy (LCCA) initiated an interior lockdown at approximately about 1:30 Friday afternoon after a loaded gun was found during a routine safety sweep with canines. Law enforcement was already on the scene for the search, and extra officers responded once the firearm was discovered.
“The lockdown was lifted at approximately 2:00,” Hall County School District (HCSD) spokesman Stan Lewis said. “There is no evidence at this time to indicate that the student intended to use the firearm on campus.”
The 18-year-old student who was in possession of the weapon is in custody and now faces charges from law enforcement and discipline from the district and the school per the Hall County School District Student Code of Conduct.
B.J. Williams, spokeswoman for the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, says one of the dogs alerted on a bag in a classroom. “The SRO (School Resource Officer) searched the book bag and discovered a loaded .45 caliber handgun and multiple THC vaping devices.”
The owner of the book bag, Joshua Brent Edwards, 18, of Gainesville, first was taken to the
administrative office at the school and questioned. Edwards was then taken into custody
and transported to the Hall County Jail on the following charges:
Possession of a firearm on school property
Possession of a firearm with an altered serial number
Possession of THC vape cartridges on school property