Updated

A 14-year-old boy accused of bringing a pipe bomb to a Christian school wanted to sell the device for $35 to pay for Christmas presents, but several classmates thought the price was too steep, the school administrator said.

The roughly 150 students at Lake Dow Christian Academy (search) in McDonough, a suburb southeast of Atlanta, were evacuated following Thursday's incident.

The Rev. James West, the school administrator, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the boy brought the homemade bomb to school to sell for Christmas money, but couldn't get any buyers.

Several other boys at the school told their parents about the device, and they alerted the school. Police were soon called in.

The device had no detonator or blasting cap, only a fuse. It did not explode.

"He didn't mean any harm, he just did a stupid thing," West said. "Boys are all the time doing stupid things."

Police searched the boy's home and found two unfinished pipe bombs.

The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, has been charged with possession with intent to distribute an explosive or destructive device. His lawyer, Kelley S. Powell, did not return a call from the newspaper seeking comment for Saturday's editions.

Authorities are considering whether to charge other students at the school who saw the device.

The school serves grades kindergarten through 12th.