UPDATE: Arrest made after threat puts Russell County High School on lockdown

A Russell County High School student is in custody at the Youth Detention Center in Lee County after he was charged with bringing a revolver to the school that was locked down until the threat was discovered, authorities said Tuesday afternoon.

Sheriff Heath Taylor said in a 4 p.m. news conference that a student took a .22-caliber revolver to school from his father's gun safe. The father realized the gun was missing and asked the boy if he'd taken it, according to Taylor. Taylor and Russell County District Attorney Kenneth Davis said they planned to charge the student and that the student hid the gun at school before being questioned.

The high school was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning as officials investigated reports from students about a threat, Taylor told the Ledger-Enquirer. Taylor said the reports began when a school officer became suspicious at hearing talk of a gun being at the school from other students.

The lockdown was implemented around 10 a.m., he said. The sheriff's administrative assistant, Lori Evans, said in an email to media outlets at 11:08 a.m. that the lockdown had been lifted.

Taylor told the L-E that the lockdown was "precautionary, just tracking some rumors down. I don't think there's anything to it."

The school's students and staff could move inside the building freely during the lockdown, Taylor said, but nobody could leave or enter the building and the outside doors were locked.

Taylor said the rumors were "threatening in nature. We're not sure if they were directed from an outside person or a student."

Asked what the threat was about, Taylor said, "Against the school system." He declined to be more specific.

Most importantly, he said, "Everyone is safe."

Russell County School District interim superintendent Brenda Coley emailed the L-E the following statement at 3:45 p.m.:

"There was an incident that took place today at Russell County High School. The school was on lock down but the lock down has been lifted. The situation is under investigation. There were no injuries and the campus is secure. Safety is our top priority for students, faculty, and staff in the Russell County School District. We will be following the Russell County School District Student Code of Conduct in handling the situation. We are currently conducting classes as normal at Russell County High School."

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

Tim Chitwood contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 3:58 PM with the headline "UPDATE: Arrest made after threat puts Russell County High School on lockdown ."