A Clinton juvenile was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after reports of carrying a handgun in the after-school hours near Clinton Elementary School.

Clinton Police Chief Ben Lowers tells Regional Radio officers were responding to a male suspect with two female suspects and the male suspect was alleged to have a handgun in his waistband.

Chief Lowers applauds the individuals that made the call to 9-1-1 and provided very good descriptions of the suspects and kept the dispatchers informed of the suspect's whereabouts.

In a statement to the community on Wednesday night, Clinton School Superintendent Curt Nettles applauded the efforts of Chief Lowers, School Resource Officer Mike Bennett, and the law enforcement partners of the community that keep the schools and community safe. 

Nettles is grateful the incident was not an incident of someone seeking to do harm to the school and like Chief Lowers, implores families to be vigilant in their watch for suspicious activity. 

Nettles added he has always had the utmost confidence in local law enforcement officials and appreciated their efforts on Wednesday.