No students or officers were harmed during the shooting that occurred shortly after police responded to a report of a custody dispute.

Editor’s note: This story has been changed to correct that the struggle that led to the officer-involved shooting occurred after police said the man pulled out a gun.

Eugene police fatally shot a man they were escorting from Cascade Middle School on Friday morning during a struggle that ensued after he pulled out a gun, a law enforcement official said.

The shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m., shortly after officers responded to a report of a custody dispute at the school in west Eugene, Eugene police Lt. Jennifer Bills said.

No students or officers were injured during the shooting that occurred just outside a front entrance to the school. Immediately following the shooting, Cascade and two neighboring schools, Willamette High School and Malabon Elementary School, were temporarily put on lockdown, meaning students were secured in locked classrooms.

Students were able to reunite with parents who were waiting nearby about three hours after the shooting.

Two police officers were involved in the shooting, Bills said. She declined to provide any further details about the shooting or the earlier custody dispute. The names of the man shot by police and the officers involved were not released.

"This is currently an ongoing, active investigation so a lot of those details you're asking I'm not able to provide," Bills said.

The Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Team that responds to all officer-involved shootings in Lane County is investigating and would remain on the scene for the rest of the day, Bills said Friday.

Once the investigation is finished, the team will give its report to District Attorney Patty Perlow, who will decide whether the use of deadly force was justified under state law.

Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner tweeted late Friday afternoon that the shooting marked "an incredibly tough day" at the middle school.

"Officers are asked to deal with so many dynamic and dangerous situations," he said. "Police officer training is so critical. We are so glad that the students and staff were kept safe. Excellent investigators are working through the weekend."

Incredibly tough day at Cascade Middle School today. Officers are asked to deal with so many dynamic and dangerous situations. Police officer training is so critical. We are so glad that students and staff were kept safe. Excellent investigators are working through the weekend.

— Chris Skinner (@EPDChiefSkinner)January 12, 2019

Bethel School District spokesman Pat McGillivray said he had no information about the custody dispute or shooting. He also didn't know if the man shot dead by police was known to school officials. District policy prohibits people from bringing guns in schools.

A parent with custody of a student can notify the school when he or she files a restraining order to prevent the other parent or another family member from contacting the student, McGillivray said.

"I'm not aware of what the situation was with those involved today," he said.

At the scene, a yellow tarp covering the dead man was observed near a front entry to the middle school; McGillivray stressed the shooting didn't occur inside the building. Yellow police tape cordoned off the building.

Sixth-grader Daysen Kehsler was in band class when he heard several loud bangs that he initially thought were lockers being slammed. Then a voice over the loudspeaker told teachers and students to take security measures.

"I feel like we were all scared," he said. "Some people were crying. Some people seemed like they didn't care."

School officials put the three schools on lockdown about 10:45 a.m., McGillivray said.

The lockdown was lifted at the two neighboring schools about a half-hour after the shooting, he said. Later on, the lockdown at Cascade was downgraded to a lockout, meaning the school's exterior doors were locked but students could move freely within the building.

Students were able to get their lunch and return to the classroom, McGillivray said. Counselors were on hand to talk to students and again will be available Monday.

Several parents praised the overall handling of the shooting but expressed frustration that information about the incident wasn't shared sooner and also about the delay in being reunited with their children.

"That was a critical relief to all parents," said parent Brian Okesson, whose son is a seventh-grader, referring to the notification that all the students were safe, "but we know they've been involved in a situation and that's a heartbreaker."

Another parent, Christopher McLeod, said he wanted his son, who's been diagnosed with a intellectual disability, "safe with us and away from this situation." He said his son already was coming to terms with the recent death of a family member.

"This is too much trauma for a child who already doesn't understand what's happened at home," he said.

McGillivray said parents were notified of the shooting through posts on the school's and district's websites and via email and text messages to parents. The first notice, alerting parents to the lockdown and saying students were unharmed, went out about 20 minutes after the shooting, he said.

"In a situation like today, there's a lot of moving parts, there's a lot fluidity and there's a tremendous amount of responsibility being shared by a few people, and we wanted to make sure we were sending the right information out," he said.

School district officials decided against releasing Cascade students early due to the active crime scene where police had cordoned off the entire front of the school, McGillivray said.

"Kids were safe in the building. They had been fed," he said. "The thinking was it was a safe place for them and there was no need to immediately send them home where some students may not have had a responsible adult there."

Even so, a "significant number" of students were released at their parents' request, McGillivray said. Cascade has about 350 students in sixth through eighth grades.

Small groups of students under escort used a side door to exit the school and then walked to nearby St. Mark Catholic Church, where waiting parents had gathered outside.

Nicole Teter, mother of sixth-grader Kehsler, said she would have never thought "in a million years" that she'd be rushing to her son's school following reports of shots fired.

"This is the stuff we see on the news," she said. "This is Cascade Middle School, Eugene, Oregon."

Follow Christian Hill on Twitter @RGchill. Email christian.hill@registerguard.com.