An employee of a Baltimore City charter school brought a gun to school in her purse and then left the gun in a school bathroom, according to a city school spokesman.

The gun was found by another employee before classes started at KIPP Harmony Academy on Thursday morning, according to André Riley, a spokesman for the school system.

“Before classes started, an employee of the school operator was arrested after being found in possession of a gun while on school property,” a statement said.

Students were eating breakfast in a different room from where the handgun was found, but the West Baltimore school “was placed on a soft lockdown until the incident was resolved,” the school system said.

No one was injured. The employee faces criminal charges, according to Riley.

A spokeswoman for KIPP Baltimore, the charter nonprofit that operates two KIPP schools in the city, said the school has no comment. Riley said the school will not comment on any disciplinary action that might be taken against the employee because it is a personnel matter.

The gun was one of five found inside city schools in the past two days. The school system confirmed a student was found in possession of a weapon at Frederick Douglass High School and arrested Thursday.

In addition, three guns were found at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in East Baltimore on Wednesday as a student was searched following an incident. City school police have identified a student they believe was involved in the incident.”

In a letter to Dunbar parents, the school system said, “appropriate legal and disciplinary actions will be taken following an investigation.

Metal detectors were installed at the entrance of all city high schools in March 2022. As they enter school in the morning, students go through the detectors and sometimes have their backpacks checked. However, high schools have many doors that are kept unlocked during school hours so students can leave in the case of fire or emergency.