School buildings along Cedar Lane on the Ellicott City/Columbia border were briefly locked down Tuesday afternoon after a suspicious incident behind the Homewood Center.

A school official said a Homewood student was seen making some sort of exchange behind the school building around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after the exchange, the student fled, which raised suspicions, according to Rebecca Amani-Dove, a spokesperson for Howard County schools.

In response to the incident, police were called. The police then put several school buildings along Cedar Lane—Harper's Choice Middle, Bryant Woods Elementary, Swansfield Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, the Applications and Research Lab and the Department of Education building—in lockdown as a precautionary measure while a foot chase involving the student and police took place, according to Amani-Dove.

The student was found to not have a weapon or anything incriminating by police, according to Amani-Dove.

The school system notified parents of the lockdown around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to an email sent out by the school's alert system.

The Homewood Center serves individual students who have difficulty functioning in traditional classroom settings, according to the HCPSS website.

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