A lockdown at Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology was lifted Friday afternoon after police scoured the campus in search of an armed man.

Durham Regional Police confirmed over Twitter that the lockdown was lifted around 3:15 p.m. and said it was safe for students to leave the area.

Sgt. Bill Calder said the investigation is not over, but officers are confident the person is no longer in the area.

“Right now we’re just dealing with the fact that he might have been armed,” said Calder.

Jodi MacLean, spokeswoman for the police force, said they received a report of a suspected armed person on the campus around 12:30 p.m.

UOIT, which shares a campus with Durham College in Oshawa, sent out an alert on Twitter to announce the lockdown.

“DC and UOIT Joint campus LOCKDOWN in effect. This is NOT A TEST. Proceed to nearest classroom, office or secure area immediately,” UOIT said in the tweet.

Vivien Ricard, spokesperson for UOIT, confirmed with the Star that the school was in lockdown, but did not provide any further details. She said updates will be available on the website.

Calls to the college went unanswered.

Students holed up in classrooms took to Twitter during the lockdown to tell of their experiences.

Joanne Nichols tweeted: “On lockdown at UOIT. Sitting on floor in dark room with other students. Apparently there's an armed man on campus. This is freakin scary.”

With files from the Torstar News Service

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