HALIFAX CO., Va. – The South Boston Police Department announced Tuesday that a student was arrested and charged after bringing a lighter that was shaped like a gun to Halifax County High School on Tuesday.
According to officials, at 11:34 a.m., a patrol officer with the South Boston Police Department was doing a community policing walkthrough at the high school and received a report of a student possessing a possible firearm.
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The school administration immediately put the school on lockdown, and officers were provided information by student witnesses identifying a juvenile male who was believed to be in possession of a suspected weapon.
Officers located the student and conducted a safety pat-down. During the pat-down, an item resembling a firearm was recovered from the student’s waistband. The item was secured without incident.
Further investigation determined that the object was not a gun, but a lighter that was made to resemble a real handgun.
The suspect has been arrested and charged for the incident. South Boston Officials say that there is no ongoing threat and there were no injuries reported. The school administration is currently working with the company responsible for weapon detection systems at the school’s entrance to evaluate whether modifications can be made to better identify items of this nature in the future.