Several schools on the south side were put into a "hold and secure" position for about half an hour Wednesday morning, after a man was spotted near one of the schools, with what appeared to be a firearm.
Evelyn Novak, superintendent of schools, confirmed that most of the Sardis schools were affected by the RCMP action, spurred on when someone saw a man with a paintball gun hanging around one of the schools.
RCMP moved into the area to locate the man, and he was apprehended after about half an hour.
"We got the call around 11:30 a.m. that most of our schools on the south side were on a hold and secure position. It's not a lockdown," Novak explained.
"There was a questionable person appearing to walking around with a weapon and it turned out to be a paintball gun," she added. "We work closely with the RCMP and we want our parents to know our students are safe."
By noon, the schools were returned to business as usual. The man may have been attempting to sell the paintball gun.
A hold and secure position is different from a lockdown. In the hold and secure position, the doors are locked. While students are not permitted to leave, classes carry on as usual. In a lockdown, however, extra precautionary measures are taken for added safety.