Gunman Opens Fire Next To OKC Elementary School

As of late Thursday, a gunman was on the loose in Oklahoma City more than seven hours after two people were shot. It happened just feet away from Greenvale Elementary School near NW 10^th and Rockwell.

The yellow tape and flashing lights were hard to miss at the Heritage apartment complex Thursday. From the ground and air, officers spent the day searching for a gunman as the elementary school was put on lockdown.

"Police officers were all over the place," grandparent Wanda Lowry said. "It was scary."

5/3/2012 Related Story: Two Victims In Critical Condition After Shooting NW OKC

Parents were not allowed to pick up their children until long after the dismissal bell rang. Parent Veronica Rodriguez arrived at the school early as the shootings happened.

"As soon as I got out of the car, I heard the shooting," Rodriguez said. "The shooter started running across the back with a gun…my daughter was outside playing."

The shootings happened a couple hundred feet away from the school's playground. Witnesses say the shooter ran near the playground with a gun in his hand as children were outside.

"I was scared because he can keep shooting…and he can just shoot a kid," Rodriguez said.

This is not the first time Greenvale Elementary has been on lockdown. In April 2011, a similar scene unfolded as police chased down two suspects.

4/26/2011 Related Story: Greenvale Elementary School Under Lock Down

"We just want to get out of this area," Rodriguez said. "It's very dangerous in here."

Parents say they are struggling over how to explain what happened to their young children. Police say both shooting victims are expected to survive.

The school was on lockdown for about an hour. Children were released around 3:30 p.m. Thursday.