News 12 at 5 o'clock, August 29, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga.---Another ARC student is now being charged with transmitting a false public alarm. That brings the total to three, and one is charged with a more serious crime, a felony gun charge.

Construction crews are back to work but on Thursday around one o'clock they saw the commotion at ARC. "I just seen him come across the road running and the next thing I know they was all behind him," says Construction Crew Michael Whisnent.

The 16 year old boy, who is not a student at ARC, allegedly came into the school and set off the fire alarm. "Right now as we can best tell, instead of going to school, he showed up at ARC," says Richmond County Superintendent Dr. Dana Bedden.

Deputies say he didn't act alone, two ARC students helped him pull the alarm. School staff and board of education police helped catch the boy after he ran away from the school. School surveillance video helped identify the suspect. "The security procedures the school followed were absolutely appropriate for this case," says Richmond County Lieutenant Scott Peebles.

Once he was across the street, officers say the boy dropped a bag. Inside they found a sawed off shotgun, and bird shot. By the time staff members saw the boy, he'd come across the street and dropped the backpack somewhere in a parking lot.

Investigators are still trying to find out why the boy had the gun, and what he planned to do with it. That thought alone is unnerving for this crew. "They could have started shooting anywhere we all up here on the roof working," says Whisnent.

Parents who have children at ARC wish they had heard about all this from the school. "They should let the parents know whats going on. We're not there, we leave that up to the teachers and principles and everything to keep our kids safe," says William Brown, who has a 15 year old freshman at ARC.

But school officials are breathing a sigh of relief, that it didn't turn out worse. "What I'd like to highlight is that no one got hurt but you had all this potential that if could have turned into something more," says Dr. Bedden.

All three juveniles are being charged with transmitting a false public alarm. The boy with the gun is being charged with possession of a weapon on school property- not the gun, but a knife that was found on him. He's also charged with possession of a sawed off shot gun, which is an illegal firearms charge.

News 12 has also learned that the 16 year old was kicked out of ARC back in January after a physical disturbance. He was a student at the alternative school until a recent suspension.