Tulsa's Celia Clinton Elementary lockdown lifted, suspected gunman still on loose

TULSA - A Tulsa elementary school is no longer on lockdown after reports of shots being fired in the area forced administrators to take hours-long safety precautions.

Officers started releasing Celia Clinton Elementary students just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, about an hour after students are normally released.

A Celia Clinton Elementary School spokeswoman said shots were heard across the street around 1:45 p.m.

Five to six shots were heard coming from a wooded area north of the school, according to Tulsa police.

No one at the school was hurt and police do not believe the shots were directed at Celia Clinton. The school, located near East Pine Street and North Harvard Avenue, went on lockdown around 2 p.m.

Officers are now working to get the children out of the school safely for their parents to pick them up, the department said in a release.

TPD is still looking for the suspect, which one official said is like "searching for a needle in a haystack."

Tulsa police officer Leland Ashley said there is "no indication [the] suspect is in the area."

Police describe him as a black man around 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall wearing a black or dark blue hoodie and blue jeans. Officers have formed a perimeter around the school and are searching nearby neighborhoods for the suspect.

KIPP Tulsa, a college-preparatory public school near East 12th Street and East Virgin Street, was also placed on lockdown at 2:10 p.m.