Hall County Sheriff's Office investigators have charged a high school student after he allegedly yelled a threat on board a county school bus Friday afternoon.
The alleged incident happened at roughly 4 p.m. when a student on the bus yelled, "He has a gun," according to Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks.
Hall County School Superintendent Will Schofield said the bus driver "did exactly as she had been trained," and pulled the bus over and called 911 when the student shouted.
Gainesville police officers responded to the scene as well, assisting Hall County as authorities blocked both sides of Ga. 53/Dawsonville Highway near Gainesville Marina.
Schofield said there were students from both Chestatee Academy and Chestatee High School on board the bus at the time.
He said all students on the bus were searched. There were no injuries, and no weapon was found.
"Investigators determined the incident to be a hoax perpetrated by a 16-year-old male student," Wilbanks said.
Chestatee High Principal Suzanne Jarrard was on the scene and helped students contact their parents, according to school district spokesman Gordon Higgins.
"Once the search was complete, the bus continued on the route, which was around 4:45 p.m.," Higgins wrote in a media release.
The suspect student is officially charged with disorderly conduct, disrupting operation of public school bus and simple assault.
The Hall County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation. The teenager, whose name was not released, was taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center, according to Wilbanks.
AccessWDUN's Scott Kimbler contributed to this story.
