Guelph police say one person has been detained after officers were called to Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute for a report of a person with a weapon on Tuesday afternoon.
In a tweet posted at 2:52 p.m., police asked people to avoid the area around the intersection of Paisley Street and Yorkshire Street North while officers investigated.
Forty minutes later, the service tweeted that police action in the area had concluded and that there was no threat to public safety.
Officials later clarifed that the weapon in question that prompted the tactical team to move in and the school to go into a lockdown was actually a black, revolver-style cap gun.
A caller had reportedly told police they saw a group of young people walking towards the school, with one of them holding what the caller believed to be a firearm.
"It was unclear if the person did enter the school or not," said Scott Tracey, media relations for Guelph Police Service. "For safety reasons, of course, officers did enter the school, conducted an extensive search, and did locate one person."
The school says police told them to go into lockdown as a precaution.
"It was pretty scary," one student told CTV News. "I'd never really experienced that before. Obviously we'd done a bunch of drills, but it doesn't prepare you for when it actually happens."
The male youth who was found with the cap gun was extremely remorseful, according to police, and was educated about the dangers of being in possession of what could be mistaken as a real firearm.
Police say that since no threats were made, and the gun wasn't used in an aggressive manner, no charges were laid.
