A student was placed under arrest Tuesday afternoon at Pitman High School after a handgun was found in the student's backpack.

The student was initially called to the Pitman High School Dean's office around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday after information surfaced that the student might be in possession of a controlled substance, according to the Turlock Unified School District.

A routine search was conducted, during which the handgun was found in the backpack.

The Turlock Police Department's school resource officer immediately handcuffed the student and placed the student under arrest.

Pitman High School was not placed on lockdown.

"We understand that situations like this can be scary and alarming," TUSD said in a released statement. "We are thankful for the vigilance of our Pitman staff members and the swift work of TPD which ensured that everyone on campus remained safe during this incident.  As is standard practice, we will continue to work with law enforcement to continue to improve and enhance our security measures to protect the safety of all stakeholders on our Pitman campus."

There was no information released about the identity of the student.