By Joe Johnson
A school bus driver in Barrow County was arrested Tuesday afternoon after a student found her purse on the bus with a gun inside.
A student at the Sims Academy of Innovation & Technology in Winder found the unattended purse in the bus and upon looking inside for the owner's identity saw the gun and bullets, according to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.
The student then took the purse to the front office at Sims Academy, where officials notified the sheriff’s office.
Deputies determined the purse belonged to a woman employed by the Barrow County School System as a bus driver.
Mary Jo Hall, 59, of Statham was taken into custody and charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, the sheriff’s office announced.
She was booked into the Barrow County Detention Center at 2:11 p.m. and as of 5:11 p.m. was still being held there without bail being set, according to the sheriff's office.