A student at Campbell Middle School in Smyrna was taken into custody Wednesday, Aug. 12, after staff recovered a weapon from the student's possession, the Cobb County School District confirmed.
The incident occurred just over a week into the new school year. A CCSD police officer confiscated the weapon, which Atlanta News First identified as a gun, though the district's official statement used the broader term "weapon" without specifying the type.
A district spokesperson told WSB-TV that multiple layers of safety supports, including students and staff who followed their training, enabled an immediate response. The spokesperson said staff secured the situation and took the student into custody.
No one was injured.
The Cobb County School District Police Department is continuing to investigate and is working with other law enforcement agencies, according to the district. Officials have not released the student's age, grade level or any potential charges.
District's $35 million safety system in focus
CCSD, Georgia's second-largest school system, spends $35 million annually on student and staff safety through what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale has called a layered approach. That system includes AI-enabled weapons-detection cameras, school resource officers and specialized Vapor Wake K9 dogs deployed in every high school this year. The K9 program does not extend to middle schools, a gap that applies equally to East Cobb campuses such as Dickerson, Dodgen and Simpson middle schools.
"Is it just the Vapor Wake K9 or is it just the AI in the cameras to detect weapons? It's all of the above," Ragsdale said during a back-to-school tour of Pickett's Mill Elementary on Aug. 3, nine days before the Campbell Middle incident. "Is it our students being comfortable with our resource officers to be able to go to them and say, 'Hey, I think I saw...,' whatever they think they saw. It's all of the above and that's what makes our schools safe."
The Aug. 12 incident is not the first weapons case in the district in recent months. In March, Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs went into a Code Red lockdown after a firearm was detected on campus during the 2025-26 school year; that student was also taken into custody.
What families should know
The district has not posted a public statement on its website as of the evening of Aug. 12. Key details remain unknown: the type of weapon, the student's identity and age, and whether criminal charges have been filed.
Families seeking answers about school safety protocols at the middle school level can address the Cobb County Board of Education at its next scheduled meeting; check cobbk12.org for the date and agenda.
