Update: Lockdown interrupts Robert Smalls IA dismissal

Police investigate theft at nearby Walmart

Robert Smalls International Academy was placed on a brief modified lockdown Monday afternoon while law enforcement searched for a suspect in a theft outside a nearby Walmart.

The lockdown interrupted afternoon dismissal, and any students who were outside the building were brought back inside, according to Beaufort County School District spokesman Jim Foster. Law enforcement cleared the campus within five minutes at 2:45 p.m., and afternoon dismissal continued.

The theft was initially reported as a strong-arm robbery. The victim told officers her purse was taken from the top of her shopping cart while she was loading her vehicle, Beaufort Police Department spokeswoman Cpl. Hope Able said.

The victim's purse was recovered, but $25 was missing, Able said.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Update: Lockdown interrupts Robert Smalls IA dismissal."