A male 12-year-old seventh-grade student at Central Baldwin Middle School was found to be in possession of a 9 mm pistol Monday morning. No injuries were reported and no ammunition was recovered.

“We’d like to commend the students for reporting the firearm as soon as they saw it,” said Terry C. Wilhite, a spokesman for the Baldwin County Public Schools. “Also, the (school) administrators acted quickly.”

Wilhite added later that the student was showing the weapon off to other students in the boys’ bathroom.

Students reported seeing the gun, and according to Sgt. Rex Bishop, a spokesman for the Robertsdale Police Department, officers arrived at 10:45 a.m. After investigating the situation, an officer “patted down” the student, and the pistol was found “in the front” of his pants. Bishop said the weapon was “not visible.”

“The student is in juvenile detention and we are still investigating how the weapon came into his hands,” said Bishop.

Ironically, Wilhite says CBMS was the site of a middle school shooting drill earlier this year. During the drill, which had the premise that two male students opened fire on students and teachers at CBMS, taking a class hostage, more than 50 different state and federal agencies were involved.

This was a lot more low-key. But perhaps more frightening.

There is no word on why the student brought the gun to school.

“We have no idea why he brought it to school,” said Wilhite.

“We are in a very early stage of the investigation,” said Bishop, “But we do not feel the parents had knowledge of this.”

The student was taken to the Baldwin County Regional Juvenile Detention Center, where he will be detained until a hearing can be held.

According to Wilhite, the school did into go into “lockdown,” and the day otherwise proceeded normally.

No matter how the legal situation falls out, the student is facing some severe penalties.

“He will be expelled for at least a year,” said Wilhite. He added that the parents may place their student in an “alternative” school for that time.

“This is a very serious offense,” said Wilhite.