BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — The staff at two schools in neighboring counties had a few unexpected visitors Thursday morning.
11Alive initially learned that precautionary lockdowns were initiated at three schools in Barrow County after a report of three unidentified persons at Winder-Barrow High School. The lockdowns were lifted shortly after 11 a.m.
The school system said in a release the lockdowns at the high school, as well as Russell Middle School and Winder Elementary School, occurred after the report at around 10:30 a.m. The school system said law enforcement from the Barrow County Sheriff's Office and the Winder Police Department responded and cleared the scene. According to the school system, the three people at Winder-Barrow High were spotted by a school resource officer and approached, at which point they ran out of the building. That spurred the lockdowns.
Officers and sheriff's deputies were investigating the scene and attempting to locate the individuals.
Thursday evening, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office posted a notice to parents on Facebook addressing a similar circumstance that happened Thursday at Jackson County High School.
The sheriff's office said the staff there identified two young adult men inside the building who were not students. When the staff made that connection and tried to talk with the pair, the sheriff's office said they left the building and went to a car parked on campus.
"Through the coordination of the Jackson County School System Safety and Security Officer, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and the Barrow County Sheriff's Office, it was determined these were the same individuals who were responsible for the hard lockdown that was initiated inside the Barrow County School System," the post said.
This is still an active investigation.
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