NEWTON COUNTY – A 13-year-old student has been charged for bringing a gun to school.

Deputies with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) arrested a male student, 13, from Cousins Middle School on Sept. 17 for bringing a gun to school the previous day. According to the news release from the NCSO, the teenager showed the gun to several students on the bus after school.

The student was arrested before he could return to school the next day.

He is being charged with carrying a weapon in a school safety zone, a felony charge. He is now in custody and taken to the Juvenile Court System.

This now marks at least five confirmed students who have been arrested within the last two weeks. The previous arrests include:

• Sept. 5: Deputies arrest a 13-year-old Eastside High School student on terroristic threats and acts charges for making verbal threats.

• Sept. 6: Deputies arrest a 12-year-old at Clements Middle School on terroristic threats and acts charges for making verbal threats.

• Sept. 10: Deputies arrest a 11-year-old Newton County STEAM Academy student for making terroristic threats.

• Sept. 13: Deputies arrest “multiple students” for making threats. A specific number has not been released.

• Sept. 16: Deputies arrest a 12-year-old Indian Creek Middle School student for making electronic threats to a school in Florida

“The Newton County Sheriff’s Office’s highest priority is the safety of the students and staff in the Newton County School System,” read an NCSO news release. “It is crucial for parents to educate their children about the serious consequences of bringing weapons to school, making threats towards students and staff, and any other acts of violence. By doing so, Sheriff Ezell Brown and the NCSO hope to prevent future incidents and avoid the need for further arrests. The NCSO recognizes the significant impact an arrest can have on a child’s future development.”