Two teens who Colorado police say had a real gun in their car while they fired water beads outside school face charges

Two teenagers in Castle Rock who police say shot water beads at people outside a high school with a toy gun are facing charges. School resource officers who responded to the disturbance outside Castle View High School in Colorado late Friday morning said they found a real, unloaded gun in the vehicle of the teens after they began questioning them.

Police first became aware of the situation at the school at approximately 11:30 a.m., and the Douglas County School District quickly placed the high school on secure status.

The teenagers were outside the school to pick up a student, according to the Castle Rock Police Department. The school resource officers who ended up questioning the teenagers for the water bead incident said they admitted that in addition to their toy gun or guns, there was a firearm in the vehicle, too.

Water beads can be fired from toy guns known by many names including water bead blasters. Many look similar to airsoft guns.

One of the suspects, an 18-year-old, was arrested and taken to jail. Their identity has not been released. The other suspect is a juvenile and police said they were released from custody and will face charges.

Police tweeted early Friday afternoon that there is "no current threat at the school."

Jesse Sarles manages the web content and publishing operations for CBS Colorado. He writes articles about Colorado news and sports in and around the Denver area.