‘Firearm suspect’ triggering school lockdown turns out to be boy in fancy dress with toy gun

Schools have been quarantined by police after a child in a fancy dress was mistaken for a man wielding a firearm.

Armed police were dispatched to Firth Road in Bognor Regis after receiving reports that “a man had been seen with a suspected firearm”, which subsequently triggered a lockdown of nearby schools, including Regis School.

A few hours after police received the warning on Wednesday morning, schools reopened and a police search of the area was carried out.

However, in the evening, Sussex Police announced that the person seen was actually a 14-year-old boy with a toy gun.

“Firstly, I would like to reassure the community that we have identified the subject of these reports, a local 14-year-old boy wearing a fancy dress,” said Sussex Police chief inspector Dave Groombridge.

“We visited him and his family and confirmed that he had a toy gun with him at the time and that he did not have any offensive weapons.

“I appreciate that this incident will understandably cause concern in the community, but I am confident that those who reported it to us did so with the best of intentions. Public safety is our priority and due to the nature of the calls received, we have deployed multiple units to the surrounding area.”

Police previously said they responded to “a report of a man seen with a suspected firearm in Frith Road, Bognor”.

A mother whose child attends Regis School, one of the affected mainstream schools, wrote on Facebook: [The Regis School] He was quarantined as a safety precaution. So they closed the school but parents were able to pick up their children. Just like I did. “The police were there and they were at other schools as well.”

However, police confirmed there was now “no threat to the community”.