Police are still searching for a suspect hours after being called to reports of a masked gunman at a Las Vegas shopping mall.

A masked man carrying a 'long gun' was filmed inside Boulevard Mall nearby the Las Vegas Strip shortly before 7pm PDT on Thursday.

But Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Chris Jones told reporters at about 9pm PDT that despite three full searches of the evacuated mall, the gunman could not be located.

Jones said police received several calls reporting a masked individual armed with a rifle inside Boulevard Mall just before 7pm.

'We obtained video of an individual who was armed with a long gun,' he said.

'That individual has not been located yet. We have done three searches of this mall. No shots were fired and no citizens were injured.

'We do not know what this individual's intentions are but investigations will continue into the night, and we will do another systematic search with our tactical team and K9.'

Scroll down for video

Swarms of police surrounded the Boulevard Mall in Las Vegas after reports of a masked active shooter on Thursday night

Police were seen guarding a door at the mall, just two miles from the Las Vegas Strip, and closed all entrances as they evacuated the mall and looked for the gunman

First responders rushed in with sirens blaring and closed down all the entrances to the mall

Jones said the individual was clothed, wearing a mask and in the center part of the mall. He is believed to have been acting alone.

Rosario Solano, 30, told the Las Vegas Review Journal she had been at the mall waiting to pick up her sister from work, with her daughter and six-year-old niece in the back of her car.

She said when she looked up, a man dressed in an army green jacket wearing a black mask was headed into the mall.

His hood was pulled up, and Ms Solano said there was a black rifle in his hands.

Another woman said she had been in the parking lot as the gunman walked through.

She said she yelled: 'No! What are you doing? Don't do that!' when she saw him, and he turned and looked at her.

The man then reportedly headed to another entrance.

The Boulevard mall is just four miles from the Mandalay Bay hotel, where Stephen Paddock killed 58 just seven months ago.

Reports of a gunman come just hours before the city is expected to welcome hundreds for an electronic music festival.

Huge amounts of police were still on the scene about 11.40 EDT on Thursday night

Social media users and witnesses reported seeing a man with a rifle, who was wearing a mask

When police first arrived, parts of the mall were placed on lock down and the parking lot was cleared out, KTNV reported.





Las Vegas Metro Police said they were investigating reports of 'a person with a gun at the Boulevard Mall' and closed down nearby roads.

As helicopters flew above, police shut down all the entrances to the mall and evacuated it as they searched for the gunman.

One man who was live streaming from the mall said SWAT teams were seen entering the mall, and police had put on bulletproof vests before going inside.

Huge numbers of police were still on the scene about 11.40 EDT on Thursday night, video from Fox News showed.

Police said there were no reported injuries or shots confirmed, but they were unable to find the shooter