HOUSTON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A 14-year-old male student was arrested Wednesday after being found in possession of a loaded handgun at a high school in the Texas city of Houston, local TV channel ABC13 news reported.

The arrest was made at 10:48 a.m. Wednesday, roughly 10 minutes after campus-based police officers received a tip from the Houston Police Department the student at Sterling High School may have a gun, the report said.

Houston police were reportedly investigating an allegation the student used the weapon to threaten an individual off campus on Tuesday afternoon.

Police officers took the student into custody without incident and confiscated the weapon after searching him, according to the report. The student, whose name is not being released, told police he was carrying the weapon to protect himself from gang members in the neighborhood surrounding the school.

The incident, which has been referred to the Harris County District Attorney's Office for criminal prosecution, came as the country mourned the death of 20 schoolchildren and six adults killed in last Friday's school shooting rampage in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The shooting has rekindled the nationwide debate on gun control.