September 5, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga -- For the second time in a little over a week, investigators arrest someone for carrying a loaded weapon near the Academy of Richmond County.

Louis Svehla, Public Information Director for Richmond County Schools says BOE officers arrested 22-year-old Omar Ahmad Gray for having a loaded .22 calibur handgun within 1,000 feet of a school zone.

Svehla says Gray was within a 1,000 feet of Lamar Elementary, which is right near ARC.

Svehla says the incident happened around 3 o'clock this afternoon, which is 30 minutes after school dismissal at ARC. He says a BOE officer spotted four subjects leaning against a fence near Lamar Elementary. Once BOE backup officers responded, the suspect, Gray, ran away.

After a brief foot chase, one BOE officer was able to arrest Gray. Svehla says the gun was found inside of his waistband.

Svehla says it's not believed that the gun made it inside either school, or that anyone was being targeted.

Svehla says Gray is at the Richmond County Jail charged with possession of a concealed weapon and poseession of a concealed weapon within a school safety zone.

This is the second time in 8 days a loaded gun has been found near ARC. Last Thursday, August 28, a former ARC student was arrested after deputies say he pulled a fire alarm and dropped a loaded sawed off shotgun in the parking lot of a nearby conveinence store. Two other students were arrested in that crime, deputies say they helped the suspect get into ARC to pull the false alarm.