ATLANTA - A Forsyth County man who allegedly made comments about "shooting up a school" earlier in the week was granted bond by a Fulton County judge Friday morning, according to a report on Fox 5 News in Atlanta.
Joseph John Medved, 51, allegedly made the comments to a receptionist at a Roswell pain treatment center Wednesday night, Fulton County sheriff's spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said. He also mentioned a weapon at a pawn shop, she said.
Witnesses to the conversation called deputies in Forsyth County, where Medved lives. Local authorities then called in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, and put him under surveillance.
Deputies say they confirmed that he went to a pawn shop to get a weapon. They also went to his home in Cumming, still watching to see what he would do.
"Forsyth County deputies saw him go to a wooded area and fire shots into the woods," Flanagan said, adding that officers saw him putting weapons in a truck.
He was then taken into custody without incident.
Later, in a search of his basement, deputies from Fulton and Forsyth counties said they found a shotgun, ammunition and a suspicious device.
"They immediately left the home when they discovered what appeared to be an IED, improvised explosive device," Flanagan said. The device found in the home included "shrapnel described as nuts and bolts," she said.
His son, John Medved, said he believes the situation is being blown out of proportion.
"He gets pissed off and he makes comments that he does not mean," John Medved told Channel 2 News.
The suspect's old high school is in Gwinnett County, and Fox 5 identified the school as North Gwinnett High School. Administrators at schools in Forsyth and Gwinnett counties were told to be on alert as authorities investigated the case.
Medved's bond has been set at $50,000, and the judge told him to stay away from schools and firearms.
Medved's next court appearance is set for September 27.
The Associated Press contributed the bulk of this story.
Thursday
April 18th, 2024
12:54PM
