MORAN, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A Moran ISD school was put on lockdown Tuesday, after a kindergarten student brought fireworks to class for a Valentine’s Day project. Later in the day, the student’s father was arrested on charges of having a Prohibited Weapon. The Shackelford County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) called the incident a ‘learning experience.’

According to Sheriff Edward Miller with SCSO, Moran ISD reported a suspicious package Tuesday morning. That package was later identified as a Valentine’s Day box project with bundles of fireworks on its outside.

Classroom by classroom, the school was cleared, and a bomb squad from the Abilene Police Department was brought in to examine the box.

Initially, parents were not notified as part of the procedure. The lack of communication caused some alarm.

“We don’t want a bunch of people coming in and having to set up, you know, road blocks, barricades, with staff that we don’t have, to deal with the influx of people versus the safety of the school and the actual scene,” Sheriff Miller explained.

SCSO told KTAB/KRBC the office and the school district were in constant contact and agreement that the main priority would be the students safety.

Kimberly Stephenson, a Moran ISD parent, said she first heard about the situation through a text message from her daughter.

“I actually feel more secure now knowing exactly what was going on and what has happened,” shared Stephenson. “I feel like they did the best job they could to keep our children safe, and that was the main goal there was to keep the children safe. Secondary to, you know, notify the parents. It’s a scary thing to think this could happen anywhere, even in Moran, Texas.”

Coming from a small community, Moran ISD and SCSO said Tuesday’s incident was a good learning experience.

“That’s a heavy weight on either side of the scale, to have to deal with when you don’t have  staff, funding, or equipment facilities, and you have to depend on other people to respond to help you out,” Sheriff Miller detailed. “But all in all, everything went great today and we can take this as a learning experience. If other school districts and law enforcement agencies have the opportunity to work together and go through these things, it would be recommended.”

It was around 2:00 p.m. Tuesday when the student’s father, Tate Tabor, 23, was arrested and booked into the Shackelford County Jail for a Prohibited Weapon charge in connection to the incident.