At approximately 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26, a teacher and a student found a shell casing for a .22 caliber bullet in room 201 during an E-block tutorial class.

An investigation by the high school and Brookline Police Department identified the student in possession of the shell casing and bullet, and the situation was deemed not to be a security threat according to an official statement sent out by Headmaster Anthony Meyer.

Mason praised the dean team’s efficient handling of the situation.

“We were able, through some good dean work, to figure out who could have been in that space during earlier blocks,” Mason said. “We were able to identify someone that was carrying these items very quickly. We were then able to involve the police department.”

Meyer’s official statement explained that “the student was not in possession of a weapon and inadvertently brought the items to school. The police department determined that the student was in no way a threat.”

Mason was pleased with the prompt response from school faculty and local authorities once the items were identified.

“Our response was exactly how you would expect and hope for. Within seconds, the teacher came out [of the room], found a dean and told them what was found,” Mason said. “The dean radioed to me, our school resource officer responded immediately, and we called the Brookline police.”

The student who initially discovered the casings said it was a surreal experience to find the items.

“Yesterday at 1:55 p.m. right after my study hall began I was beginning to start my homework when my teacher walked in and asked me what homework I have, as she would normally. I told her what homework I had. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something shiny. Most of the time I ignore coins on the ground but this was different because it was brass. I took a closer look, ignoring our conversation and she noticed too. Instantly she started handling the situation because we both understood it’s a shell casing off of a .22 caliber bullet,” the student said.

Mason said that the incident affects the school community and that he communicated to the student in question how serious their violation was.

“It is obviously something really disturbing to the school community,” Mason said. “What we expressed to the student in question is just how disturbing and upsetting this is to people, how it creates a sense of unease and discomfort, and how it makes this place feel less like it should feel: secure and safe.”