CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Police were on scene Thursday afternoon at H.M. King Early College High School in Kingsville after receiving reports of a gun on campus.
The Kleberg County Sheriff's Office confirmed to 3NEWS that law enforcement was on campus searching for a possible gun that students were reportedly passing around.
"A student reported overhearing something to one of our administrators," said Kingsville Superintendent Dr. Cissy Reynolds-Perez.
This prompted response from multiple law enforcement agencies and a lockdown at the school.
Reynolds-Perez said that the swift reaction from law enforcement can make all the difference.
“At a time like this, we always have to be prepared and we have to take every comment seriously," she said. "What I appreciate is that we had immediate law-enforcement protection and support from a variety of law-enforcement officials in Kingsville, so I really appreciate that. I do want to let everybody know the drills we put in place seem to work. It is an inconvenience, but our children are worth it."
Perez said that she was impressed with how calm and focused her students were during the process.
“I am so proud of our students. How well behaved they were, how discipline they were during our evacuation process," said.
Students were eventually released one classroom at a time, and were escorted across the street to a shopping center parking lot where parents were waiting for them.
Kingsville Police Chief Ricardo Torres said after an extensive search -- no weapon was ever found, and no arrests were made.
"Nor could it be verified that a weapon was every present on campus, no student or faculty member was injured during this response. This was truly a learning experience and will serve to assist our school district to better respond should an incident occur in our city."