A Lake City Middle School student was arrested Monday after joking about losing a firearm.
The school was placed on lockdown around 11:40 a.m. Monday, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, after the student’s threat about allegedly having a firearm on campus. According to a CCSO release, several students told their teacher they overhead a classmate said they had “lost my handgun.”
The CCSO release states the 14-year-old student then was seen searching through their backpack with a flashlight, apparently trying to find the weapon.
LCMS Principal Dennis Dotson and the school resource deputy were immediately notified and the student was removed from the classroom and searched, the CCSO release states.
During an interview, the student said the statement was a joke and admitted it went too far.
The CCSO release states no weapon was found on the student or in the backpack.
The lockdown was lifted after all the involved students were interviewed.
The student, who the CCSO did not identify in its release, has been charged with a third degree felony for false report of a weapon on campus and a second degree misdemeanor for disruption of a school function. The student was picked up by the Department of Juvenile Justice.
“Making any statement — even in jest — about a firearm on school grounds is a criminal offense that carries serious, life-altering consequences,” the CCSO release states. “A single carless remark forced an entire school into lockdown, disrupted the education of every student on campus, diverted critical law enforcement resources and caused unnecessary fear and trauma to students, staff and families.”