Waltham Middle School in 'Soft Lockdown' After Live Round Found

A Waltham middle school was placed into a ‘soft lockdown’ on Thursday after a teacher found an unspent shotgun shell on the floor of a classroom, said police.

Police were called around 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 21 to the Kennedy Middle School, after a teacher reported finding the shell on the floor of a classroom. The teacher brought the round to the school resource officer, after which the school instituted a “stay in place” order.

An investigation revealed that a male eighth grade student had brought the round to school, and he got that round at a friend’s house in April and it had been in his backpack ever since, said police.

Administrators searched lockers and bags belonging to the boy and found nothing else of concern.

“The school will be handling this matter internally and there will be no criminal charges filed at this time,” said Waltham police. “At no time were any students or staff in any danger due to this incident.”

The school was in lockdown for approximately 30 minutes.