Student arrested, charged after making threat on school bus

A Hall County student is in custody after an alleged threat made on a school bus.

A Hall County student is in custody after an alleged threat made on a school bus.

A 16-year-old male student faces misdemeanor disorderly conduct, simple assault, and disrupting operation of a public school bus charges after authorities say he yelled a threat on a school bus and said he had a gun, Hall County officials said.

Just after 4 p.m. Thursday, Gainesville police and Hall County sheriff’s deputies responded to a potential threat on a school bus carrying students, Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks said in a statement. Hall County School District officials said  Chestatee Middle and High School students were on board at the time of the threat.

The bus driver called the Hall County bus shop and told them he heard someone on the bus shout, “He has a gun,” Wilbanks said. The bus shop then called 911.

Once police arrived, the bus was evacuated and students on board were searched. Wilbanks said authorities eventually determined the threat was a hoax.

“The student who made the threat was taken into custody by law enforcement,” Hall County School District spokesman Gordon Higgins said in a statement.

The student, whose identity has not been released, was taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center.

No one was injured in the incident, but Dawsonville Highway was closed during the investigation, Wilbanks said.

Officials did not say where the bus was headed during the incident.

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