The same town where 26 children and teachers were murdered in a 2012 elementary school shooting faced another scare on Wednesday after a teacher was arrested for bringing a concealed firearm into a middle school in Newtown, Connecticut.

School security personnel detained 46-year-old Newtown resident Jason Adams on Wednesday morning after a fellow teacher saw him carrying a gun at Newtown Middle School and alerted school officials, the Newtown Police Department said. Police then charged him with illegal possession of a weapon on school grounds, a class D felony.

“This matter is very serious and troubling, both the Newtown Public School system and the Newtown Police Department took immediate steps to address the matter. The teacher was immediately detained by security personnel,” Newtown Middle School said in a statement.

Students were not in the building on Wednesday morning due to a two-hour delay for staff meetings. Adams, who has a valid state pistol permit, teaches science at the middle school, according to school’s website. Adams was put on administrative leave pending an investigation by school officials. Police released him without posting bond and he is expected in court on April 20, according to police.

The incident comes four years after a gunman killed 20 fist-grade students and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. Following the massacre, Newtown increased its law enforcement presence in its schools, placing armed officers in every building.

“This close working relationship between the school system and law enforcement personnel is essential in resolving incidents of this nature,” police said, according the Wall Street Journal.
Newtown is 25 miles Northwest of New Haven.