Franklin County Middle School Student Caught With Gun in Bookbag Friday

A possible dangerous incident at the Franklin County Middle School Friday may have been averted by a quick-thinking student.

According to a press release by Acting School Superintendent Chuch Colquitt Friday, a student came to class with a gun in their book bag.

“Staff and the SRO (Student Resource Officer) responded quickly and the gun was confiscated,” Colquitt said. “Everyone is safe. Parents, please continue to assist us in having conversations with your children about reporting situations and how we keep each other safe at school. The school day is currently operating as normal. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.”

Colquitt also thanked the student who reported the gun for quickly alerting staff.

Recently the school system made available to students and parents a new app called Anonymous Alerts.

Scott Andrews is the Safety & Security Officer for the Franklin County Charter System.

He said posters have been put up in hallways at every Franklin County School with a QR code students can scan to download the app, which is free.

Andrews said the App offers a list of topics for the student to choose from via a drop-down so a student can choose from topics such as abuse, assault, bullying, dating violence, drugs, gun on campus, etc.

From there, the student chooses at which school the incident is occurring and is able to also text the exact situation.

Andrews said once the report is submitted, all teachers and staff at the school will be alerted via the app. But the student filing the report on the app will still remain anonymous.

There is also a message center where the student can send and receive texts from the school resource officer, counselor, or teacher and chat with them about the exact situation.

On the admin side, teachers and administrative staff can keep a record of problem issues in the school and who causes those issues.

Andrews said parents can also keep track of incidents on the app. He added a letter in both English and Spanish has been sent to parents telling them of the app and how to use it.

It’s not known if the student who reported the gun Friday used the app.