Update: Replica Gun, Ice Pick Found on Lakewood High Campus

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Two Lakewood High School students face criminal charges after St. Petersburg Police found them in possession of weapons on campus Friday.

The incident began to unfold around 10:20 a.m. when a student told the School Resource Officer another student brought a firearm onto the campus, police spokesman Mike Puetz wrote in an email to media.

Armed with the information, the officer confronted the student and found what looked like a handgun in his backpack.

A closer look, however, revealed the gun was a “realistic looking replica, but not a working firearm,” Puetz wrote.

When questioned, the student said he brought the replica to school because he was fighting with another student he believed was armed. The boy, however, would not reveal the name of his adversary, Puetz noted.

Fearing a firearm on campus, school officials and the SRO initiated a lockdown so a full investigation could be launched.

During the search that followed, another student was found in possession of an ice pick. The search and a gun-detection dog, however, did not turn up an actual firearm on the campus.

The lockdown was lifted at 11:36 a.m.

The student carrying the replica will be charged with disruption of a school function, Puetz said. He was on felony probation, so he now also faces a violation of probation charge. The teen carrying the ice pick faces a charge for bringing a weapon to school.

The names and ages of the teens were not available.

Image via Shutterstock