FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 12-year-old boy was detained Friday morning after being found with a BB gun at a Fort Lauderdale school, authorities confirmed.
The incident was reported at Dillard High School 6-12.
"He reached into his backpack, withdrew a firearm, pointed it at one of the staff members and began pulling the trigger. Thankfully, it turned out the firearm was only a BB gun," Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione said.
Students told Local 10 News reporter Todd Tongen that they locked their classroom doors, covered the windows and sheltered in place inside closets.
"I am still very shaken up about it, but I am just glad I was able to know that everyone I know and everyone I care about is safe," 9th-grader Alexsis Fortson said.
Students also said they saw a police evidence bag that had a gun inside it.
"I have seen a photograph of the gun and it looks absolutely real," Maglione said.
Fort Lauderdale police spokesperson Casey Liening said a lockdown at the school has since been lifted and no injuries were reported.
Many parents were shaken by the incident and chose to pick up their children early from school.
"Speechless! I can't even explain -- to begin to tell you what was going through my mind," Fortson's mother, Theresa Bender, said. "I left work and came straight here."