Durham police have a 15-year-old Ajax youth in custody after they received word of a possible handgun sighting in a high school portable on Monday.

"Police were called after a Notre Dame high school student was seen with a handgun hidden in his waistband underneath his shirt," they alleged in a news release.

The call came in at about 1 p.m. It resulted in a lockdown order being issued for Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, located at 1375 Harwood Ave. N., and J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate, at 1355 Harwood Ave. N.

The two buildings are connected. They house a total of about 4,000 students.

Police surrounded the portable in question and had the other nearby portables evacuated. Tactical officers arrived at the scene.

They called the youth out of class and arrested him without incident or injury to anyone at about 3:15 p.m., police said.

"A search of the portable revealed a loaded Glock-style pellet gun inside the student’s gym bag," they alleged.

"There were 13 other students in the portable at the time but there is no indication they were threatened in any way or even knew about the alleged weapon."

The release didn't indicate what, if any, charges the youth might be facing.

The lockdown was lifted about 3:45 p.m.

"Fortunately, the situation has been resolved peacefully," Sgt. Nancy Van Rooy, a Durham police spokesperson, told CTV News.

"We responded, as per our protocol, to the scene and set up a perimeter," she said, adding this included a negotiator and a canine unit.

Police were deliberately vague to keep information from flowing through social media channels to individuals who might have been involved in the incident, Van Rooy said.