A Chester High School student was taken into police custody Tuesday morning after a toy gun they brought into the school prompted a large police response and lockdown, officials tell NBC10.
Police, some armed with rifles, swarmed the high school located along the 200 block of W. 9th Street in Chester, Pennsylvania around 11 a.m. after a call came in for a gun in the school.
The school was placed on lockdown and officers performed a room-to-room sweep of the building, a spokesman for the Chester-Upland School District said. During the search, officers found what looked to be a gun inside a backpack. They later determined it was a toy.
No one was hurt and the 15-year-old student was taken into custody for questioning. Police recommended felony charges in the case, but the Delaware County District Attorney declined those charges saying the state criminal code doesn't allow for it.
The decision did not sit well with Chester Police and town officials who blasted prosecutors.
The student will be slapped with a misdemeanor charge and be released to his parents, the DA's office said.
