An Armuchee Middle School student was charged Monday with terroristic threats and acts and possession of a hoax device after a suspicious package was found at the school, leading to an evacuation of the students around 9:15 that morning.

The student, who was not identified because of his age, talked about a possible bomb with other students, according to Armuchee Middle School Principal Steve Turrentine.

One of the students told a teacher, he said.

Sam Sprewell, chief of operations for Floyd County Schools, said the building was searched by the Northwest Georgia Bomb Squad.

“They immediately evacuated the building,” Sprewell said. 

The students were sent behind the school to wait while bomb-sniffing dogs were sent inside to clear the building.

The dogs and police were inside for more than an hour.

Parents were sent to New Armuchee Baptist Church on U.S. 27, where teacher Shane Arp told the parents what had happened and that the students were safe after the bomb squad gave school officials clearance.

The device which was in a book bag, alarmed school officials enough to evacuate, Turrentine said.

The device had wires and batteries but was not a bomb and contained no explosives, according to Jerome Poole, a spokesman with the Floyd County Police Department.

Turrentine said the evacuation was orderly and he was very proud of how the students handled the situation.

The student charged was taken to the Rome Youth Detention Center, Poole said.