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ADEL, Ga. (AP) — A high school student was accused of bringing a loaded .22-caliber pistol into the cafeteria of his south Georgia school Wednesday before he was apprehended, authorities said.
No injuries were reported.
The 17-year-old boy carried the gun, which was inside a small drawstring bag, into the Cook High School cafeteria around 7:05 a.m. Wednesday, Cook County Schools Superintendent Lance Heard said in a statement.
School officials learned of the gun after the boy's grandmother alerted authorities, saying the boy was upset about a girl and might have a weapon, Heard said.
Law officers were immediately sent to the school, he said.
"The student was confronted in the lunchroom by law enforcement and he proceeded to run into the student parking lot where he was apprehended and arrested without incident," Heard said in the statement.
"This is a stark reminder to all of us about just how serious the matter of school safety truly is at all times," he added.
The boy was being held early Wednesday afternoon in the Cook County Jail, Sheriff Douglas Hanks said. The suspect's name wasn't released.
It wasn't immediately known what charges the boy would be facing, Hanks said. Asked what the boy's intentions were, Hanks said his officers were still investigating.
School system attorney Daniel Studstill said the district would review its safety policies and procedures.
"We think they worked well," Studstill said.
The school is nearly 30 miles north of Valdosta and about 200 miles south of Atlanta.
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