By Catherine E. Shoichet and Mariano Castillo
(CNN) — Three people, at least two of them students, were wounded in a shooting on a Texas community college campus Tuesday, a school spokesman said.
One of the shooters at the North Harris Campus of Lone Star College was among the wounded and is in custody, spokesman Jed Young said. The other shooter fled the campus, he said.
Authorities were searching for a suspect in a wooded area next to the campus, a law enforcement source said.
A fourth person at the college suffered a heart attack during the shooting, according to a federal law enforcement official who received reports from the scene. Reports indicate the shooting occurred at the school’s library, the official said.
“The police believe the danger has been mitigated,” Young said.
One suspect is in custody, Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Thomas Gilliland said in a written statement. “Their role in this incident is under investigation.”
There were more than 10,000 students on the campus at the time of the shooting, Young said. The campus was evacuated and closed for the remainder of the day, according to a post on the school’s website.
“I’m still hoping that all of my friend are OK,” said Amanda Vasquez, a freshman at the college who heard at least six shots go off while she was in English class. “I didn’t really see any of my friends afterward. I was just trying to get to my parents.”
Police and emergency responders swarmed an entrance to the campus, aerial video from KPRC showed.
Lone Star College student Brittany Mobley told CNN affiliate KHOU that she saw the shooting.
“I saw two dudes basically get into an altercation and … the dude that shot, he basically got angry and you know started shooting the other guy,” said Mobley. “A lot of people heard a lot of shots.”
Medical personnel were seen treating at least two people and moving them to ambulances. One person appeared to be handcuffed to a stretcher. Students were jogging away from some buildings, with their hands up in the air, presumably in response to police instruction.
“I heard no less than five shots and I just ran,” one student told CNN affiliate KTRK. “My heart was pounding. I was praying I wouldn’t hear anymore shots. I was with a bunch of other people running and someone yelled out, ‘don’t push!’ People were crying, I had tears in my eyes.”
Another witness told KTRK he saw blood on the ground and someone shot in the leg.
“Beside him, there was one guy in handcuffs,” he said.
“I just heard somebody screaming and then after that I heard the shots,” another student told KPRC.
A spokesman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the governor’s office was monitoring the situation.
“His thoughts and prayers are with those who have been impacted,” spokesman Josh Havens said.
The Lone Star College system is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas, according to its website.
CNN’s Ed Lavandera, Brooke Baldwin, Steve Almasy, Thom Patterson, Carol Cratty, Devon Sayers, Rich Porter and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
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