‘Toy gun’ wasn’t the reason Bluffton Middle School went on lockdown the other day

Bluffton Middle School officials placed the school on modified lockdown Tuesday afternoon for an already-scheduled canine drug search, an event unrelated to an incident earlier that day when a special needs student brought a toy gun to the school, Bluffton police spokeswoman Joy Nelson said.

Some parents on social media linked the two events together, which Nelson said was untrue. So was a rumor of a BB gun.

“A special needs student bought a toy gun to school with no ill intent,” she said. “Staff realized it was a toy gun, and no police report was filed.”

A student reported to administrators that a toy gun was shown to him or her. Administrators confiscated the toy and the student will be disciplined in accordance with the district’s student code of conduct, district spokesman Jim Foster said.

Citing student privacy laws, Foster would not comment on whether the student had past behavioral or disciplinary issues.

The school notified parents through an automated phone call about both incidents after they occurred. Foster said the message included the fact that the incidences were unrelated.

The school was placed on modified lockdown around 2 p.m. to ensure no students were wandering the halls or leaving the premises during the canine drug search, Nelson said.

The Tuesday drug sweep was the second this school year for Bluffton Middle School. No contraband was discovered, Foster said.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 11:29 AM with the headline "‘Toy gun’ wasn’t the reason Bluffton Middle School went on lockdown the other day."