A secondary school in Maple Ridge was put into ‘Hold and Secure’ status on Thursday morning due to a call of a weapon being produced in the area, say police.

Maple Ridge RCMP were called at around 11:15 a.m. to the area around Thomas Haney Secondary School for reports of “an individual with a weapon.”

Police say that when they arrived on scene, they found a 16-year-old youth with an imitation firearm. The youth was taken into custody, say the RCMP.

A letter sent from the Maple Ridge School District to parents of youth at the high school read that “the school received a report that a student may have been in possession of a weapon at school. Staff acted on the report immediately, placing the school in a Hold and Secure as the student in question was no longer in the building.”

The school was under Hold and Secure for about 30 minutes until RCMP lifted the warning.