A fifth grade student brought an unloaded bb gun to Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams Elementary School Tuesday morning, school district officials said.

According to Port Arthur Independent School District Communications Specialist Kristyn Hunt Cathey, the student gave the unloaded bb gun to a classmate, who then placed the gun in his backpack.

Fellow students reported the sighting of the gun to a teacher, who immediately removed the students in question and notified the principal.

After questioning, the unloaded bb gun was confiscated from the backpack of one of the students, given to the district police and the students were removed from campus, Cathey said.

“The safety and security of our students and staff are of the utmost importance,” a statement from the Port Arthur Independent School District read. “We thank our students for the bravery they displayed today and we continue to encourage all of our students, if they see or hear anything suspicious, to immediately let a district employee know.”