ROYSE CITY, Texas — Royse City High School was put on lockdown Friday morning after several students were seen firing airsoft pellet guns at other students, police said.
No one was injured in the incident, and students were facing "serious ramifications for their actions by the school district and possible criminal charges," according to a police news release from Friday morning.
Police had received a report at around 8:15 a.m. about an armed person at the high school, located about 30 miles northeast of Dallas.
A witness reported that they saw someone pointing a gun at another person in the parking lot. Police then received a report that several people were seen running into the school.
Officers responded to the scene, and the school was put on lockdown. When officers arrived, they found several airsoft pellets on the ground in the parking lot, according to the news release.
“Every officer that responded to this, thought that this was a possible active shooter at the school,” said Sgt. Ryan Curtis of the Royse City Police Department.
Police and school officials "were able to quickly identify five students involved" and the students were put in custody, police said. In an update from city officials Friday afternoon, police determined that no criminal charges would be filed. City officials said "the matter will be handled by School administration."
Police said they learned that the students were participating in a TikTok trend known as the "Orbeez Challenge," which involves firing airsoft or BB guns at other students.
“At first it was a bit scary. It was just a lot of people like running to their classes,” said Larry Nino, a tenth grader at Royse City High School.
The school lockdown was lifted and classes were back to normal by 11 a.m.
Police called the TikTok challenge "a senseless and dangerous trend that is disrupting school environments across the country."
Added the police news release: "It also causes a serious strain on law enforcement resources because officers have to respond to each incident like it is an active shooter call."
”Even though this was ultimately toys, it was still a very dangerous situation,” Sgt. Curtis said.