Atlanta, GA -- May 17, 2012 --

Police in an Atlanta suburb have enlisted the help of federal agents to examine a rifle dropped by a man who was seen aiming it at a school bus.

Clayton County police Officer Phong Nguyen says the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will try to obtain leads from the weapon, a Marlin .22-caliber rifle.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that more than 50 officers spent Wednesday afternoon going door-to-door in the neighborhood where witnesses saw the man aiming at the bus Monday morning.

The man fled when witnesses confronted him. Authorities said a neighbor chased him, but broke off the pursuit when the man used a second gun and shot at him.

Police recovered the rifle and a notebook filled with bus numbers at the scene.