Greenville, S.C., police hunt gunman (UPDATES)

Greenville, S.C., police placed local schools on lockdown, blocked roads and told some residents to stay in their homes as they searched for a man who had shot at a police officer and fled into the woods on Friday, the Greenville News reports.

A “gun battle” had occurred between the man and a female officer in the morning after she spotted his silver Yukon SUV in an apartment complex, Greenville Police Chief Teri Wilfong told the media. Earlier, another officer had identified the vehicle as having a license plate that matched a different car. The SUV was reported stolen from Spartanburg County, the Greenville News reports.

The police officer was not harmed in the firefight, The Associated Press reports.

Not knowing the direction in which the fugitive was headed, the police placed four public schools, three private schools, two colleges and a special education center on lockdown around 10 a.m. the AP reports.

"This is not around the corner from a school. I don't want to give you that impression. This is several miles from any of our schools," Oby Lyles, spokesman for Greenville County school district, told the AP.

Seven schools were still on lockdown in early afternoon, Reuters reports, as K-9 units combed the nearby woods for signs of the shooter.

Update, 10/28/11, 5:05 p.m.: Greenville, S.C., police called off the local dragnet around 4 p.m., saying they believe the gunman had been picked up in a car and left the area, the Greenville News reports.