A student at Red Bank High School was arrested Friday morning after the school resource officer found he had an unloaded handgun in his backpack and a loaded clip in his pocket.
The student, who is a 16-year-old sophomore, was found with the gun and ammunition in a classroom with other students.
The school went on lockdown for about 40 minutes around the time the arrest was made.
The sheriff's office said SRO Tim Manu was given information about 9:30 a.m. that a student on campus was armed.
The SRO was able to learn the name of the student, and he approached him and searched him after asking him to leave the classroom. A loaded clip for a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun was found in his front pocket. Upon checking the student's backpack, an unloaded .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun was found.
Janice Atkinson of the sheriff's office said she did not know why the student had the gun at school.
The student was charged with carrying a weapon on school property and transported to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center.