GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The Mesa County District Attorney's Office is deferring prosecution after a 65-year-old man signed a contract promising to take a gun safety class after causing a panic at Grand Junction High School while carrying a gun on his hip.

District Attorney Pete Hautzinger says the man also agreed to 48 hours of public service and promised to write a letter of apology to staff and students.

According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the incident on Aug. 29 forced the school into a lockdown while police checked out the situation.

Hautzinger declined to identify the man.