Police: Student Brought Gun to High School Track Meet

An Archer High student has been released from jail after being charged with having a handgun present during a school sporting event. 

The student was arrested March 30 at Parkview High School in Lilburn, where he was attending the fourth annual Big Orange Relays track meet. A witness at Archer High alerted police to the possible presence of a weapon; the student's arrest followed a search of his vehicle by school officials.

Gwinnett County school officials confirm the student is a sophomore at Archer High, and say in cases such as this, that students are out of school pending a disciplinary panel.

"The panel then determines the consequence for the incident based on the facts of the case," said Sloan Roach, spokeswoman for Gwinnett County Public Schools.

Witness Notifies Police

About 8:20 a.m., on March 30, a witness said he saw the student in question walk to the back of his vehicle at Archer High and retrieve what appeared to be a nickle-plated pistol, according to a Gwinnett County Police Department report. The witness had arrived to the school a little earlier to await await track coaches and a school bus transporting team members to the meet.

The witness said the student then showed the weapon to a friend and "while holding the gun in his left hand, used his right hand to pull the slide back, as if chambering a round," a Gwinnett County police report stated.