A shooting at a church in proximity to the Ninth Grade Academy and Habersham Central High School caused a soft lockdown of all Habersham County schools Wednesday morning.
Sheriff Joey Terrell said the shooting did not occur on the school campus. Principals Jonathan Stribling and David Leenman sent out all calls to parents to reassure parents that the children were safe.
Terrell said multiple suspects had been detained by 10:45 a.m. and that more information would be forthcoming. The lockdown was lifted at the Ninth Grade Academy shortly after that time.
County Manager Alicia Vaughn and EMS Director Jeff Adams said the shooting victim went toward the Ninth Grade Academy seeking help after the incident.
"I want to put all parents at ease, especially in light of yesterday's events (in Texas), that this is not a school shooting," Habersham County Sheriff's PIO Kevin Angell said. "This incident did not occur on the school property and was not related to any school activities. ... Our SROs were in place and they were on it to protect our students."
Angell said the investigation continues but the community is no longer in danger.
Superintendent Matthew Cooper said in an all call that the schools were all locked down as a precaution. He added that Terrell told him it was a "shooting of a domestic nature."
Read more as it develops and in the weekend edition of The Northeast Georgian.