Both suspects were found with weapons at Topsail High School in Pender County, one with a semiautomatic rifle, according to the sheriff’s office.

By Tim Buckland and Cammie BellamyGatehouse Media North Carolina

PENDER COUNTY, N.C. — Three schools have been released from a “code-red lockdown” Tuesday morning, and two students are in custody after both were found with weapons at Topsail High School, one with a semiautomatic rifle, according to the sheriff’s office.

“At this point, all of the schools have returned to a normal operating schedule,” said Capt. James Rowell of the Pender County Sheriff’s Office at a press conference after the high school, Topsail Middle School and Topsail Elementary School were placed on lockdown for about three hours Tuesday morning.

Rowell said the sheriff’s office received a call warning of a student “en route to the high school with a firearm. Once we got that phone call, we initiated lockdown procedures at our eastside schools.”

Rowell said the student was found in the parking lot of the high school. He didn’t have a firearm, “but he did have other weapons in his possession,” Rowell said of the student.

“He never entered the school building,” Rowell said. “He was sitting stationary in a vehicle in front of the school.”

After the first student was arrested, a second student “pulled on the campus and was found to be in possession of … a semiautomatic rifle,” Rowell said. “That student was arrested as well.”

Neither student was named at the news conference. Rowell said the students’ names and their charges would be released later Tuesday.

The school district posted on Facebook shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday, “We can confirm that no suspect entered a school building and no students or staff members have been injured.”

Rowell said two other schools, North Topsail Elementary and South Topsail Elementary, were in “a code-yellow lockdown” but have since been released from lockdown procedures.

Parents were not allowed onto campus Tuesday morning to pick up their children during the lockdown.

“During a code red lock down no one can come on campus or leave the school building. During a code yellow lock down movement is limited within the school building; however parents can come on campus,” school district spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson wrote in an email.

Stephanie and Shawn Johnson, of Hampstead, sat in their truck on the side of Jenkins Road, waiting to get their daughter Melissa. The ninth grader had texted her parents to tell them she was OK, but the parents wanted to get her home as soon as possible.

“My anxiety is through the roof,” Melissa Johnson said. She was interrupted by an automated call from the North Topsail Elementary School principal, letting parents know the school had gone into code-yellow lockdown as a precaution but that the campus was safe.

Shawn Johnson said he was frustrated that he heard about the school threat from television news and his own daughter before he received an alert from the school district.

“Our kids will be homeschooled next year; we’re not doing this again,” Shawn said. “Every two to three months there’s another school shooting. I’m fed up with it, I’ve had enough. It’s too close to home.”

Susan Bridges, whose daughter attends Topsail High School, said she was pleased with how Pender County Schools has communicated with parents regarding the incident.

News of the incident began with the school district posting on Facebook shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday that “Topsail Elementary School, Topsail Middle School, and Topsail High School are currently in a code red lock down due to information received by the Pender County Sheriff’s Office.”

In a span of minutes, the post generated dozens of comments, with some frustrated that more information was not included and saying they were worried about their children.

“Can we get any information? Parents are panicked!” one person posted.

Others posted that they believed the school was handling the situation appropriately.

“The authorities have your little ones safe. School called me to pick up sick child and there is nobody getting close to these schools,” another person posted.

Tim Buckland and Cammie Bellamy are reporters for the Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News. Eva Ellenburg contributed to this report.