JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Parkwood Heights Elementary School was briefly locked down Wednesday morning because of reports of shots fired during a fight at an apartment complex across the street.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said it received calls about 8 a.m. from witnesses saying 15 to 20 teenagers fighting at the Lansdowne Apartments in Arlington, and shots had been fired.
When officers arrived, they said several people ran off, but did not find anyone with injuries.
According to Lone Star High School senior Asia Lynn, the teenagers in the fight were seniors at Terry Parker and Lone Star high schools, who have been rivals since they were in ninth grade.
"Boys started walking up at the gate, and they just started fighting. But I didn't see the gun, I just heard them (gunshots)," Lynn said. "I don't even know who pulled the gun, but I just heard it, so I ran."
Police said they were unable to find any shell casings or blood at the scene.
"When officers arrived the groups just basically scattered in different directions, but at one point we were told there were shots fired in the area," JSO Lt. Rickey Valentine said. "We checked, and we have been unable find any shell casing, but due to the schools in the area, we did a lockdown for safety purposes."
A mother, who did not want to be identified, said her child was walking to school when the fight broke out and she also heard gunshots.
"I cried, yeah, because my baby was going across the street to go to school," she said. "It was surprising shocking that this disrespect was there."
She said she's now afraid to let her children walk across the street to school.
Police said they will be monitoring all of the schools in the area to make sure another fight does not happen.
"We understand that in the morning, that when kids are coming and going to school, we will continue to have a big presence in the area," Valentine said. "We are going to continue to have our officers out here."
A Parkwood Heights employee who answered the telephone just after 9 a.m. said all students were safe. A spokesperson for Duval County Public Schools told News4Jax that they did not have a comment because the fight happened off school property.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500.