VICTORIA -- An elementary school in Nanaimo has rescinded its hold-and-secure order Thursday morning after police investigated a nearby incident.

The Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District placed Fairview Elementary and the school district administration centre under the hold-and-secure order around 9:30 a.m. as Nanaimo RCMP investigated reports of a suspicious person near the Nanaimo Ice Centre.

The school district lifted the hold-and-secure order around 10:15 a.m., after police gave the all-clear and left the area.

Nanaimo RCMP say they were called to the Nanaimo Ice Centre around 9 a.m. for reports of a man walking around with what appeared to be a rifle in a marshy area behind the property.

Mounties sent a large police response to the area, including members of the emergency response team and police service dogs.

While searching the area, police say they were approached by a man who said he was walking with an airsoft rifle.

The men led police to a tent where he was living and showed them the airsoft gun, which was then seized for public safety reasons, according to RCMP.

No charges or arrests were made, say police.

Fairview Elementary is located at 205 Howard Ave., roughly one kilometre away from the Nanaimo Ice Centre, located at 750 Third St.

A hold-and-secure order means that everyone is brought into a school while all exterior doors and windows are locked.

Classes and indoor school programing are generally allowed to continue as usual during a hold and secure.