Students and staff at the University of South Florida were told to stay inside with their doors locked for an hour-and-a-half Friday after someone reported a gunman on campus.
School spokeswoman Lara Wade said there were no immediate reports of shots fired or injuries and no word of anyone being taken into custody.
As of 2 p.m. Friday, officials said on the school's Web site that police had investigated and students and staff should return to normal activities.
There was no immediate word on whether an armed person was actually on campus.
The school sent out a mobile emergency message at 12:31 p.m. to notify 55,000 people of the incident. Messages were also displayed on digital screens throughout campus.
Jon Catuccio, who works at the school, said he heard over a loudspeaker that a gunman had been reported at the bioscience building in the heart of campus and people should stay inside.
He said he got an e-mail with the same information and everyone was "kind of hanging out" and waiting to see what happened.
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Student Lawrence Stawkowski, 24, saw three helicopters flying around and said an alarm went off every 15 minutes.
"I wasn't too afraid," he said. "I was just surprised, a little shocked."
The late summer term at USF just ended, so there were fewer students than usual on campus, said Allyson Stanfill, 21, who was stuck inside a lab across the street from the bioscience building.
