ST. LOUIS — Ranken Technical College students received an alert Wednesday morning that read, "Active shooter - THIS IS NOT A TEST."
The email, sent at 10:48 a.m., told students to "initiate lockdown procedures, be prepared to evacuate."
Minutes after the email was sent, 5 On Your Side team members saw more than a dozen police vehicles headed to the scene. St. Louis police officers confirmed they responded to the area after a report of shots being fired but did not find any victims during an initial investigation.
Mason Scales is a wielding student at Ranken Technical College who was walking out of class when received the email notification.
"It didn't really go into detail on where it might've been happening. It said this is not a test and just to stay safe," Scales said.
Multiple students told 5 On Your Side that shots were fired near the campus at a job site. One of the people involved in the shooting reportedly ran across the street toward campus.
Jayla Mccall is also a student at Ranken Technical College. She says her friend was at the job site and witnessed it all.
"It was shots being fired near the job site, he said that it was really close. He said it was in the alley. He said the person ran and was running towards the school, basically to the dorms," Mccall said.
Students and staff were kept inside while police investigated. Later students were escorted out of a campus building. Concerned parents showed up after their students alerted them, some say they didn't receive any notification from the school. Several students were seen entering back into the building for their belongings and coming back out to leave for the day according to 5 On Your Side reporter Diamond Palmer who is at the scene.
Mallorie Moore-Norrington is the parent of student Andre Moore-Norrington. She showed up after her son texted her that he was barricading himself in the cafeteria until police allowed students to evacuate.
I feel like they should have let the parents know immediately. When the kids found out...we should've found out," Moore-Norrington said.
Ranken released the following statement:
"When we were alerted to the situation near our campus, we immediately initiated our safety/security protocols and put the campus in lockdown. The safety and security of every member of the Ranken community is always our top priority. This is an active law enforcement matter, and we have no additional information to share at this time."
Officers are on the scene investigating. Police have not said whether anyone was injured.
"This incident is not classified as a Shooting at this time, as no victim has been located," a department spokesman said at 11:20 a.m., the most recent update from police. "This is an active investigation and I have no additional information to provide at this time."
This is a developing story. This article will be updated with the latest information as it is made available.
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