AUSTIN, Texas—The Austin Independent School District released the following statement from Eric Mendez, the district’s police chief, about AISD police officers finding a loaded gun at Webb Middle School today, Monday, March 31:

At 9:50 a.m., Webb students reported to campus administration that a classmate had brought a loaded weapon to school. AISD police immediately launched an investigation into the situation.

The entire school was searched and the AISD K9 unit was involved in the search for the weapon, which was found at 2 p.m. hidden on campus. No one was in possession of the weapon when it was found. There is no indication that there are any additional weapons on campus.

We would like to commend both the students who reported the weapon to campus leadership and our team members for their handling of the situation.

The safety and well-being of our students is our number one priority at AISD. And, this incident is a reminder that we must all remain vigilant to safeguard campus security. I would like to encourage students, teachers and community members to contact the AISD police department to report a security threat or if they ever feel unsafe, as these students did. This will help us maintain a safe school environment.