Palo Alto High School was briefly placed on lockdown on Thursday morning as police investigated a report of a man pointing a gun at cars near the school.

They did not find the man or any additional witnesses who would corroborate seeing the man. Three hours after getting the initial report, they deemed the report "unfounded."

The department received a report of the man with a gun at about 11:30 a.m., according to its announcement on X.

School staff placed the Paly campus into "shelter in place" status, which required everyone to stay inside, police said in a news release. The school lifted the order by 12:15 p.m., after the police were unable to locate the suspect or any additional witnesses, police said.

Police "checked and cleared" Paly and remained in the area out of an abundance of caution for a few hours, the department said.

The person who made the initial report said the man was pointing a handgun at passing cars on Alma Street, according to the police. They described the man as a Hispanic adult male with tattoos on his arms. He was reportedly seen on Alma Street, near the bike path at the rear of the school, police said.

At 2:20 p.m. police said they had spoken to several adults who saw a man matching the description on the bike path. The man was reportedly waving a cell phone, not a gun.

"We believe the initial report is unfounded," police said.