Fake gun leads to brief lockdown at SW Philly school

A brief lockdown was ordered at a Southwest Philadelphia school Friday morning after a 10-year-old boy turned in a fake handgun his 7-year-old sister took from their uncle's house the night before, police said.

Around 10 a.m. at Thomas G. Morton Elementary School at 2501 S. 63rd St., the boy turned the gun over to a teacher after finding it in his sister's book bag, said Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives.

The gun was given to the school's principal, who contacted police and ordered the lockdown. Detectives determined the black gun, which appeared to be a semiautomatic, was fake and the lockdown was lifted, Walker said. Detectives learned that the sister had found the gun in a closet while visiting their uncle and she took it to her grandfather's house, where the children live.

The children were released to the custody of the city's Department of Human Services, Walker said. The uncle and grandfather are not facing any charges. "It's just an unfortunate situation," Walker said.