A student at a high school in Lynn, Massachusetts, had a toy gun in their backpack and was arrested Tuesday, officials said.
No one was hurt in the incident, but Lynn English High School was locked down, Lynn police and school officials said.
An administrator called local police at about 10:20 a.m. about a student who may have had a weapon. The toy gun looked authentic, police said.
The student -- who was not identified -- also had alcohol, and was taken into custody and charged in Lynn Juvenile Court with threat of dangerous items and underage possession of alcohol.
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The lockdown was lifted after the weapon was found to be a toy and not a credible threat, Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Patrick Tutwiler said in a statement.
"Among other takeaways, this incident highlights the importance of vigilance, practicing emergency procedures, and the school/police partnership," he said. "The quick and thorough response first by school administrators and then by the Lynn Police Department upon arrival demonstrates the level of care with which we take safety in general and these scenarios in particular."
When the incident started, some at the school thought it was a drill. But thanks to their cellphones, they quickly found out it was real.
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"At first everyone thought it was a joke, so everyone was playing around. And then five minutes into it, everyone started getting texts realizing it wasn't a joke," student Lisanny Diaz said, adding that the texts said things like, "This kid, he's dangerous, he's in school."
Lynn police Lt. Michael Kmiec said the department had not dealt with the student before and their procedures for handling the situation worked well.
"We went in there, safely evacuated the surrounding classrooms and then were able to take the toy weapon away from the student without incident," he said.
Despite the gun turning out to be a toy, students and parents were worried.
"I was at an appointment and I was really scared," said Alondia Diaz, whose niece called to say that someone with a gun was in the school.
