In the Interest of A.B.S.

On the morning of May 20, 1999, 15-year-old A. B. S., then a tenth grader at Heritage High School in Conyers, arrived at school carrying two fully loaded, concealed weapons: a 22-caliber lever-action rifle with a sawed-off stock and a .357 magnum revolver. He walked into an open area where 150 or so students were gathered before classes, retrieved the rifle from the inside of his pants leg, and fired all twelve rounds. Six students were struck and injured. Two other students narrowly escaped injury when bullets hit books they held.

Students chased A. B. S. outside. He withdrew the revolver from under his shirt and shot at one of the students, who jumped out of the line of fire. A. B. S. fired two more shots, dropped to his knees, and put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. The assistant principal, Cecil Brinkley, coaxed A. B. S. into surrendering the weapon. He was immediately taken into custody.