UPDATE: Sawyer Road Elementary lockout lifted
Nov. 10—Marietta City Schools has lifted a lockout that was imposed Thursday at Sawyer Road Elementary School.
The school announced a secure/lockout status this afternoon due to reports of a suspicious person near campus.
Cobb Police spokesperson Officer S.A. Barner said that people had called 911 reporting a man walking near the school with a gun. A Cobb County officer located the man, who was "not near the school," Barner said. His exact location was not immediately clear.
The school system initially said the man had been arrested, but Barner said he was only questioned, and not charged with any crime.
The man was not breaking any laws and had no criminal record, Barner said. He was advised that walking around in public while carrying a gun had caused alarm.
"Not really doing anything with it, he was just near the area, but not really near the school ... It does look alarming, but it's not illegal," Barner said.
During a lockout, normal operations inside the school continue, but nobody is allowed to enter or leave the building, said Marietta Police spokesman Chuck McPhilamy, whose department handled the lockout. Lockouts are different than lockdowns, when students shelter in place.
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