UPDATE: Westside High School to conduct asynchronous learning Thursday and Friday

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office says the person who ran from Campus Police Wednesday is now in custody.

UPDATE (8:30 p.m.) – The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says the person who ran from Campus Police Wednesday is now in custody.

That’s the only new information we have right now.

UPDATE (6:30 p.m.) – Macon’s Westside High School will conduct asynchronous learning on Thursday and Friday of this week following an incident Wednesday afternoon.

The district released the following statement:

“Good evening. In light of the incident that occurred at Westside High during dismissal today and the social emotional impact, we have made the decision to conduct asynchronous learning for Westside High on Thursday and Friday of this week. This decision is ONLY for Westside High staff and students. Students and staff should log in for class virtually. Hutchings CGTC students will still need to participate in classes in person to follow CGTC’s schedule. Shuttle service for CGTC will run as normal. As an additional support, counseling services will be available to students via Teams on Thursday and Friday. More information about these services and the next two days will be shared by school administrators. We value the well-being of our students and employees and want to do our part to support them. Thank you for your understanding.”

The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says no one has been taken into custody.

ORIGINAL STORY:

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Two schools were placed on lockdown this afternoon after a Bibb County Schools Campus Police officer saw a firearm in a vehicle in the carpool line at Westside High School.

According to the school district, when the officer went toward the vehicle, a male got out with the gun and ran into the woods nearby. Students who were dismissing from school at the time were ushered back into the building, while Campus Police chased the suspect. The GBI also helped with the search. Students who remained on campus went into lockdown and were later escorted to their vehicles once it was determined it was safe.

Weaver Middle School, which is nearby, was also placed on lockdown.

The school district noted in its statement that, “This was an isolated incident unrelated to school business or any rumors that may have been spread prior.”

Superintendent Dr. Dan A. Sims posted the following statement on Facebook:

The Bibb County School District wants to thank the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for their support this afternoon with an incident at Westside High School. During dismissal today, a Campus Police member was monitoring the carpool line when he observed a firearm in one of the vehicles in the line. When the officer moved to approach the vehicle, a male jumped out of the vehicle with a firearm and fled into the woods. Students who were in the process of dismissal were reverse evacuated back into the building as Campus Police pursued the individual on foot. Additionally, GBI arrived on scene to assist.

We want to be clear there was no active shooter on scene and all students and staff are safe. Students who were still on campus at the time went into lockdown protocol after returning to the building until it was deemed safe to leave. Buses were already loaded at this time and left the school as soon as officers allowed. Once determined it was safe, officers escorted any remaining students from the building to their vehicles.

Weaver Middle School, nearby, went into precautionary lockdown as an additional safety precaution while officers were searching for the male suspect who had fled on foot.