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Mom waving gun at high school students on campus is shot by officer, Georgia cops say

A school officer told the mom to drop the handgun and shot her when she didn’t comply, according to police.
A school officer told the mom to drop the handgun and shot her when she didn’t comply, according to police. Georgia Bureau of Investigation

A parent was shot by an officer after she brought a handgun to an Atlanta high school and waved it at students on March 30, Georgia police said.

The armed parent arrived on the Booker T. Washington High School campus after a fight broke out among students after school, a statement from Atlanta Public Schools said.

The parent, a 30-year-old mother carrying a handgun, arrived on campus around 4:17 p.m. and became involved in an argument, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

During the altercation, the parent is accused of waving the gun toward students and employees, APS said.

“Officers repeatedly ordered (the parent) to put the handgun down and she did not comply. (The parent) was subsequently shot once by an officer,” the GBI said.

The mother was shot in the hand, APS reported, and she was treated on the scene by paramedics. Her injuries were non-life-threatening, and she was reported to be in stable condition, according to the GBI.

One parent told WGCL she would press charges against the mother.

“She was putting her hand and her gun at me and my daughter and I’m pressing charges. That’s the dumbest thing to do to pull up to a kid fight, pull out a gun and get shot,” Cynthia Leakes told the news outlet.

The Atlanta Public Schools Police has charged the mother with obstructing a law enforcement officer with violence, carrying/ possessing a firearm on school property, disrupting public school, aggravated assault, cruelty to children and contributing to delinquency of a minor, according to APS.

APS said several departments would be involved in investigating the shooting.

“As this was an officer involved shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating as well,” the school district said in its statement. “The safety and well-being of our students and employees is always a top priority for all Atlanta Public Schools.”

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This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Mom waving gun at high school students on campus is shot by officer, Georgia cops say."

Alison Cutler
mcclatchy-newsroom
Alison Cutler is a National Real Time Reporter for the Southeast at McClatchy. She graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and previously worked for The News Leader in Staunton, VA, a branch of USAToday.
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