A 12-year-old middle school student in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been charged with the threat of mass violence after police say he pointed a replica gun in the school auditorium Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — A 12-year-old middle school student in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been charged with the threat of mass violence after police say he pointed a replica gun in the school auditorium Wednesday.

The boy, a student at Earle B. Wood Middle School, allegedly began waving the fake weapon around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday during extracurricular activities, Montgomery County police said in a news release.

He approached a group of female students and pulled what looked to be a real pistol from his backpack to show them, police said.

The boy told them the “safety was on” before pointing it around the auditorium. That’s when students started to scream, panic and run, according to police.

Several students approached a nearby teacher and she instructed them to take shelter behind the auditorium stage.

Authorities said about 120 students were in the area.

When the teacher located the boy, he was sitting on a mat, holding the replica gun, with his finger on the trigger. She was able to convince him to hand it over, police said.

The replica gun was found to be plastic which had been spray painted black.

The boy was arrested, then released to his guardian.