A Sussex school was forced into lockdown amid reports of a man nearby with a firearm.
Pupils were spotted "hysterical and sobbing" outside The Regis School in Bognor Regis.
One parent told The Sun: "The whole school has just been placed in full lockdown. I have gone down to collect my children and they are just hysterical.
"I have never witnessed anything like that."
One parent wrote on Facebook: "I was there collecting my daughter.
‘It wasn’t evacuated as such. It went into lockdown as a safety precaution as a man was seen with a firearm.
"So they shut the school but parents could collect their kids. Like I did.
"Police were present and at other schools too. Nobody was stabbed nobody hurt."
The Regis School in Bognor Regis went into lockdown
|GOOGLE MAPS
A Sussex Police spokesman told Metro: "At around 11.10am today police received a report of a man seen with a suspected firearm in Frith Road, Bognor.
"Due to the close proximity of nearby schools, police advised them to implement temporary lockdown procedures while searches of the area were carried out.
"All schools have since reopened.
"Wider search activity, including armed officers, is ongoing, and a visible police presence continues in the area."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
A spokeswoman from the school said: "Earlier today the police informed us of a live incident in the local community and asked us to put in place our standard procedures for such times.
‘To reassure parents, the incident was not school-related and we were able to continue to operate a normal school day.
"As you would hope and expect, students behaved perfectly throughout this time, and I would like to thank staff for their leadership and support.
"The wellbeing of our students is our highest priority, and we will always follow the advice of the emergency services when requested."