A forensics teacher at Dade County (Georgia) High School was arrested Wednesday morning as part of an investigation into an unauthorized gun found at the school the day before. An attorney for the teacher said the firearm possession was an accident that shouldn't be prosecuted.
Catherine Turner, a 60-year-old Ringgold resident, was arrested at the school and charged with carrying weapons within a school safety zone, a felony offense, the Dade County Sheriff's Office reported. When asked why Turner brought the gun to the school, Chad Payne, a detective with the sheriff's office, said he could not discuss a suspected motive because the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
"Any time a gun is found on campus [it] is a threat, but at no time was anyone in imminent danger," Dade County Schools Superintendent Josh Ingle said in a phone interview.
He said Turner was a teacher at the school and had been working there for a couple of years. The sheriff's office said Turner taught forensics.
The gun was discovered under a bookshelf Tuesday morning by a teacher, the Dade County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday afternoon. The gun was unloaded, but 10 rounds of ammunition were with the gun in its case.
In a written statement released Tuesday, Payne complimented the school system on how it handled the issue.
Turner's attorney, McCracken Poston, said in an emailed statement his client was innocent, having not intended to possess the gun on school grounds. He said the teacher had found the gun in a box in her widowed mother's home. She thought the box was filled with art supplies.
"Dr. Turner found the handgun herself in the classroom, and notified authorities, as anyone would think would be the appropriate response," Poston wrote. "This matter should have ended the moment the teacher realized that her late father's handgun had been tossed in the box by family members cleaning out her mother's house."
Turner was the daughter of two educators in the Catoosa County system, Poston said, and someone he's known since high school. He said it's a law-abiding family, and he thinks this kind of "robotic" prosecution discourages disclosure. Turner was still in custody Wednesday afternoon, and Poston said he was attempting to get her released on bail.
Each of the four schools in Dade County has its own school resource officer, Ingle said, adding that the school board and county commission share the cost of that program.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.