POMONA >> Authorities on Friday were still searching for an armed man following a police pursuit that resulted in a multi-vehicle crash near Cal Poly Pomona Thursday afternoon, leading to an hourslong lockdown of university housing when the car thieves fled.

• Related Story: 4 suspects in custody after police chase near Cal Poly Pomona, 5th suspect remains at large

It began when Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies spotted five people in a red Volkswagen believed to have been stolen from a shopping center near Mt. San Antonio College, officials said. The driver eluded deputies, headed southbound on Temple Avenue and caused a seven-car pileup at South Campus Drive around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. No one was harmed during the incident.

The five occupants took off running, according to witnesses. Three — two men and a woman — were apprehended in short order, while a fourth tried to blend in, hiding in a dorm room, deputies said. The SWAT team and crisis negotiators were called to the scene at 7 p.m., and the man surrendered around 9 p.m.

• Video: Student has a brush with one of the suspects

The foursome, whose identities will not be released until the final car thief is in custody, has been arrested on various charges, including grand theft auto, hit-and-run and conspiracy, said Lt. Joseph Badali of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Walnut Station.

The department is also not releasing the fifth man’s name, but deputies believe they have identified him from campus surveillance video, which also caught images of a handgun.

Badali said investigators believe the five have ties to gangs in the San Gabriel Valley.

On Friday morning, many students on campus reported feeling safe despite the incident only a few hours earlier.

“I mean, this could happen anywhere, honestly,” said Ezekiel Henshaw, 22. “It doesn’t really have anything to do with the school, so yeah, I feel just fine.”

In a YouTube video posted Friday afternoon, Cal Poly Pomona President Soraya M. Coley praised students and staff for enduring the “challenging situation.”

“Our campus was tested last night, and I’m pleased to say that through teamwork, commitment and the talent of our outstanding staff across the campus, we were able to successfully navigate a challenging situation,” Coley said.

Staff rushed to provide students a “safe place to gather, plenty of food, music and even a movie” at the Bronco Student Center, University Village and other spots on campus, she added.

Coley also encouraged students to connect to the university’s safety alert system, which sends urgent campuswide notifications through text messages, email updates and phone calls.

Both Henshaw and fellow student Liz Marquez, 20, praised the emergency notification system.

“It kept me informed of what was happening,” Marquez said. “I think it worked really well.”

Marquez was on campus when the nearby student apartment was shut down and followed along with the unfolding situation through the messages.

Henshaw said he was asleep but was awoken by one of the alerts.

• Photos: The crash and the search

While University Village was on lockdown, the rest of the campus’s occupants were told to “shelter in place.”

Meanwhile, a Mt. SAC student had a close encounter with the stolen car as it sideswiped her vehicle on Temple. Shaidyn Garces, 19, watched what she thought were four people flee the red Volkswagen.

The woman ran from the car — a moment Garces captured with her cellphone — and then mistakenly ran straight toward officers in her path.

The men scattered, with one unsuccessfully trying to enter someone else’s car.

Pomona police were called to assist with the incident and are investigating the crash.

• Video: The seven-vehicle crash scene

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau at 213-229-1700. Information can be provided anonymously by calling “Crime Stoppers” at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.