BATTLE GROUND, Wash. -- Two eighth-grade students are facing weapons charges after police found a loaded gun in a backpack.

Police responded to Daybreak Middle School in Battle Ground at about 9:05 a.m. Thursday for a possible weapon violation, said Sgt. Jason Perdue in a news release.

Officers were told that a student reported seeing another student with a handgun.

Police pulled the suspected student from class, Perdue said, and the student admitted bringing the gun to school. He said he gave it to another student when he saw police arrive, police said.

Officers found the gun, a loaded .22-caliber, in the third student's backpack.

Police said there is no indication the students were planning to use the gun at school and both students were suspended.

Due to the age of the students, their names won't be released, Perdue said.

The students were arrested, Perdue said, and weapons charges will be forwarded to the Clark County Juvenile Court.

A school district spokesman said the students face one-year expulsion and are banned from entering any school district property for one year.

In a letter and phone call to parents of students at Daybreak Middle School and the adjacent Daybreak Primary School, Whitten said, "The way this incident played out is evidence that the system we have in place works. Student reporting was the key to keeping Daybreak staff and students safe. … I am proud of the student who immediately reported this to a teacher. In my view, he is a hero. He helped assure the safety of everyone by doing the right thing."