Washington college on lockdown after unconfirmed reports of gunfire, no known victims

Fire officials in Washington state say they know of no people with injuries following reports of possible shots fired at a community college south of Seattle.

Police armed with heavy weaponry swarmed Highline College in the city of Des Moines Friday morning after the reports of shots. About an hour after the initial report, South King Fire Agency tweeted it knew of “no known” victims.”

Police say they are currently  trying to determine whether shots were fired.

The college posted about the lockdown on Facebook around 12:30 p.m. ET. “Remain in lockdown. This is not a drill. Police are responding and evacuating buildings. This is an unfolding situation,” the post stated.

Washington police said they are responding to reports of “shots fired,” but it still has not been confirmed. The college says that police were evacuating buildings and assessing the situation, and that the event would be treated as a shooting until police could completed a sweep of the area.

The Renton Police Department advised people on Twitter Friday morning to avoid the area around Highline College.

Highline College is in Des Moines, Wash., about 17 kilometres south of Seattle. It has about 17,000 students.

With files from the Associated Press.