Over 80 Slidell police officer and Sheriff’s Office deputies descended on Northshore High School Wednesday afternoon after a student told authorities she witnessed another student carrying a gun.

Police locked down the school for over an hour, and didn’t allow any students or faculty to leave until they determined that the alleged suspect was not found, and there was no gun on campus.

Police spokesman, Capt. Kevin Foltz said the incident began around 1:40 p.m. when Northshore High School officials told School Resource Officer Dave Wortmann that a student had reported seeing somebody carrying a gun. The 16-year-old female student told Wortmann she saw a white male, wearing a red shirt and blue jeans walking between the school’s main building and the band room with what appeared to be a black gun in his right hand. The suspect walked toward the school parking lot, and the witness went to the band room to tell the teacher, who notified the front office. Wortmann immediately locked down the school, and called dispatch requesting back up police units, Foltz said.

Two minutes later, 30 Slidell police officers began arriving at the school, and 50 deputies from the Sheriff’s Office showed up a short time later.

Heavily armed, and wearing bullet-proof vests, the police officers, along with the Slidell police SWAT team, scoured the school for over an hour looking for both the suspect and evidence of a gun. Detectives also looked at surveillance video tape to see if they could spot the suspect. A K-9 unit was brought in to see if the dog could detect the presence of gun powder. Despite the lengthy search, Foltz said police could find neither the suspect, nor the purported gun.

Students and faculty were allowed to leave the school at 2:46 p.m., Foltz said. Detectives did not find any other clues, but are continuing their investigation.

Foltz said the witness was interviewed several times, but police could not get any more information from her.

“Her story has never changed,” Foltz said. “And we have no reason to disbelieve her.”

If the student had been lying, Foltz said she could have been arrested for giving a false report.

According to St. Tammany School Board spokesperson Meredith Mendez, if a student files a false report that seriously disrupts the education process, they face disciplinary actions ranging from suspension to expulsion, and include disciplinary reassignment and/or notifying local law enforcement.

Foltz said the response by so many officers shows how seriously law enforcement take these type or reports in schools. Chief of Police Freddie Drennan agreed.

“We take this kind of incident very seriously, and take every precaution to ensure the safety of the students,” Drennan said.

He backed up his statement by ordering several police officer to be present at Northshore High Thursday morning when students came to school.

Anyone with any information on the incident should call the Slidell Police Detective Division at 646-4347, or the CrimeStoppers School Hot Line at 1-877-832-2571.