HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Two students who allegedly planted a fake explosive inside Highlands Ranch School this week could be facing charges, deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

Deputies were called to the school shortly before noon Thursday after staff members discovered a suspicious device that was attached to the outside of a locker.

Following the discovery, students were immediately evacuated to Crest Middle School until bomb technicians and additional deputies arrived to verify if the device posed a threat, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office said Friday.

The spokesperson said a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office bomb technician assessed the device and determined it was “a simulated device that posed no threat.” The device was then removed from the locker, the spokesperson said.

During the investigation, two suspects were identified and located, and detectives have now recommended charges of possession of a hoax explosive, a Class 5 felony, as well as interference with an educational institution, a Class 2 misdemeanor.

The investigation is open and active, deputies said, adding no more information would be shared at this time.