WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Police arrested a man after gunshots were heard near Rippon Middle School in Woodbridge, Va.
Prince William County Police Department (PWCPD) tweeted around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday that staff members who were outside notified a school resource officer (SRO) about the gunshot sound. The staff members then returned inside the school building, police say.
Police say the SRO called additional police units to assist in searching for the man.
"The SRO encountered the armed individual on school property and detained him without incident," PWCPD tweeted.
A statement from PWCPD identified the man as Durante Arye Meza, 20, of Woodbridge.
Police say Meza was found "along a cut-through on the property near the side of the building." He was reportedly wearing a ski-style mask.
Meza was armed with a rifle and shotgun but complied with the SRO's orders, PWCPD says. Investigators believe Meza was "involved in a domestic incident at his home" located near Georgia Road.
Officers went to Meza's home and spoke to other residents who said a verbal exchange happened at the home.
According to investigators, Meza left his home with the firearms, fired a round from the shotgun in the air, prompting the police response.
No one has been reported injured, police say.
Following the arrest, Diana Gulotta, a spokesperson for Prince William County Public Schools, wrote in an email to WUSA9 around noon Wednesday that "[t]he school is operating normally now." After the sounds of gunshots, the school went into "secure-the-building" status," she wrote.
"This domestic incident was not school-related," the email says. "Suspect apprehended on school grounds. No one at the school was hurt. We have sent out multiple notifications to parents, with a more detailed letter to be sent shortly."
Featherstone Elementary School in Woodbridge also went into a secure building status, PWCPD says.