Police On Alert After Man Points Gun at Children Boarding School Bus
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File photo. iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — Roughly 150 police officers in an Atlanta suburb are on full alert after witnesses say they saw a man pointing a rifle at school children boarding buses on Monday.
Clayton County School spokesman David Waller says the incident occurred around 7 a.m. when two neighbors saw a man lying on the ground next to a bus stop, wearing a ski mask and holding a rifle.
“The suspect raised the rifle to his shoulder as if he were preparing to shoot, and one of the men yelled out at him,” Waller said. “While one man yelled and called police, the other man ran after him.”
That’s when the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired at the man running toward him.
“He stopped, and the suspect dropped his rifle and took off,” Waller said.
When police arrived on the scene, they found the loaded rifle along with a notebook filled with numbers.
Waller believes the groups of numbers in the notebook coincide with school buses that move through the area.
“It is a worry,” said Waller. “We certainly don’t want anybody to panic. But when somebody points a loaded rifle at a school bus, it’s always a cause for great concern.”
Police are now riding school buses and guarding each stop.
Clayton County Police Officer Phong Nguyen says the suspect has been described as between 18 and 25 years of age.
“We don’t know who the subject is right now, so we don’t know motives and intentions,” Nguyen said. “A witness stated that’s what he saw and that’s what we’re going by.”
Police are currently canvassing the neighborhood and escorting school buses. They will continue to do so until the end of the day on Friday, which also happens to be the end of the school year.
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