Police turned up empty handed after an hours-long search for a gunman in South Los Angeles that forced the lockdown of a nearby school, where some 100 children were participating in after-school programs, officials said.
Officers spotted a man with a gun about 5:25 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Western Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, LAPD officials said.
Police said he had a gun tucked in his waist band and ran into the school.
Officers chased the man, but lost track of him.
A perimeter was set up in the area near Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, according to the Los Angeles School Police Department. The district's police department initially tweeted it was a middle school.
"We were in the library for the tutoring session and a half hour into it the LAPD came in and said that everybody had to exit the building," said parent Dorian Esters.
Police gave the all-clear about five hours after the search began and the lockdown was lifted.
Families were reunited with their children at a nearby restaurant
The after-school programs, Beyond the Bell and Youth Services, typically end at 6 p.m., district officials said.
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