Parents dropping off their children were turned away from a Cobb County elementary school Tuesday morning after witnesses reported seeing a man near the school with a gun, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Teasley Elementary School, which is also a polling place, was under a brief lockdown while authorities investigated, Cobb police confirmed to the news station. The reported weapon turned out to be a cellphone holster, according to officials with the school district.
Police confirmed to the news station that officers spoke with a man after witnesses said he was walking near the school with what looked like a gun. Parents arriving to the school with their students about 8 a.m. were forced to turn around.
The school sent an alert to parents at 8:15 a.m. that the lockdown was lifted and the school day would proceed as normal.
“Out of an abundance of caution our school was placed on lockdown early this morning,” school officials said in the alert. “Administrators had been given reports of a possible danger in a nearby neighborhood that proved to be false. All students and staff are safe and the school day is proceeding as normal.”
Though voting continued during the first 10 minutes of the lockdown, the county elections chief filed and was granted a petition to keep the school open an extra 20 minutes Tuesday night. Instead of closing at 7 p.m., the polling location at Teasley will close at 7:20 p.m. to give voters time to cast their ballot in the Georgia runoff election.
RELATED: Cobb elementary school lockdown means precinct will stay open later
“We can't determine if anyone may have left the poll during that period when they saw what was happening,” Janine Eveler, head of Cobb elections, said.
The polling place is designated as Vinings 02, and it covers a swath of the Vinings and Cumberland areas.
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