McNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. — McNairy Central High School was put on lockdown Thursday morning after a gun was found inside the school.

Deputies with the McNairy County Sheriff’s Office responded within five minutes of the gun being found by a staff member, according to Director of Schools Greg Martin.

Officials say the gun was not loaded, and no ammunition was with the gun when it was found.

“It was a non-operational weapon. It was an older gun. It was not in operational shape,” Martin said.

This is the second time McNairy County Sheriff’s Office deputies have found an unloaded gun in the high school this week.

Investigators say the first gun found has been connected to a burglary. Martin says they are doing their best to adhere to their safety protocols.

“We are going to continue to look for ways to improve safety. Will there be probably an increased police presence on campus over the course of the next few days? We certainly think so,” Martin said.

Due to McNairy County being in such a rural area, Martin says there aren’t enough tax dollars to provide more security systems or deputies in the school.

“As we all know, as we begin to talk about metal detectors and things like that, that costs money,” Martin said.

He said faculty and staff have to monitor closely in order to catch things like this.

“In a small, rural area where there not a lot of tax revenue and things like that, you just have to rely on teachers being visual,” Martin said.

Martin says students will be back to their regular school schedule Friday.