Following area graduation ceremonies on Friday night, Vicksburg teenagers found themselves at a Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office checkpoint just outside of Port Gibson — and what deputies discovered likely saved many lives.

The Port Gibson Police Department and the sheriff’s office, according to reports, had previously received a tip from a Vicksburg resident that a possible shootout was set to take place at a graduation party in Port Gibson.

Claiborne County Sheriff Edward Goods said deputies conducting the checkpoint smelled marijuana in one car they stopped, and deputies along with Port Gibson police officers commenced a search of the vehicle.

According to reports, officers searched the vehicle and recovered several weapons that were located in the trunk of that vehicle under a tire. Goods said two teenagers, both with Vicksburg addresses, are detained in Claiborne County and charged with possession of a stolen firearm.

“The goal is being proactive, not reactive,” Goods said. “I feel like we saved a lot of lives the other night, in being able to keep those guns off the street.”

Goods added that one of the confiscated guns was stolen from a Vicksburg resident.