Contrary to rumors, there was no evidence that a student wielded a firearm during a racially charged argument between Coupeville and South Whidbey students Wednesday night, according to Island County Sheriff Rick Felici.

A preliminary report by a deputy, he said, states students from the two schools got into an argument in the parking lot of the South Whidbey High School after 8 p.m.

A student from Coupeville played for South Whidbey on the wrestling team that had a match at the school. Since it was the student’s birthday, a couple of friends from Coupeville were painting a “happy birthday” message on a rock at the school that is commonly painted by students, according to Coupeville Superintendent Shannon Leatherwood.

A student from South Whidbey High School approached the other students and allegedly used the N-word, which caused the verbal fighting to become heated.

A South Whidbey student lifted his shirt and said, “let’s run this,” which was interpreted as a challenge to fight, the sheriff explained. Some of the people at the scene were concerned that the boy was signaling that he had a gun by lifting his shirt, but no gun was seen by anyone, Felici said.

At that point, adults intervened and stopped the fight and the sheriff’s office was called. As a car drove off, a “pop” sound was heard. Again, Felici said no gun was seen and that deputies didn’t find any casings or evidence of gunfire. In fact, he said the car was known to backfire.

The sheriff added that it’s unclear at this point whether a hate crime may have been committed. The use of a racial epithet isn’t a crime in itself. Under state law, a person is guilty of a hate crime if he or she “threatens a specific person or group of persons and places that person, or members of the specific group of persons, in reasonable fear of harm to person or property.”

Leatherwood said the incident was “very scary” for the Coupeville students involved.

The superintendents from both Coupeville and South Whidbey school districts sent out emails to families and staff to let them know that an incident had occurred but that there was no discharge of firearms on campus.

“The district is launching a full investigation in collaboration with the other district and will continue working with the Sheriff’s Office,” South Whidbey Superintendent Becky Clifford wrote. “We are committed to addressing this matter swiftly and thoroughly in accordance with district policies.”