A faulty heater generates information that shots were allegedly committed at the N.C. School.

According to a local official, a faulty heater would have been at the origin of an active shooter at Topsail High School in North Carolina.

"There is no active shooter," Tom Collins, director of Pender County Emergency Management, told Wilmington. Star-News. "It's a faulty water heater."

Collins said out of the defective heater "sounded like an AR-15 [semiautomatic rifle] go. "

The school confirmed that the situation was a false alarm. "There was a report of an active shooter situation at Topsail High School this morning after noises were heard coming from the top of the building," Pender Schools said on Twitter. "The forces of the order reacted immediately and it was determined that there was no gunman or weapon."

Panic has resulted in Topsail being locked up and several schools nearby.

At around 7:00 am Sheriff's deputies in North Carolina responded to reports of an active shooter at the school, about 20 miles north of Wilmington.

Schools in Pender County initially confirmed the shooter's information and said the district "took every precaution to ensure the safety of students and staff."

An emergency dispatcher at the Pender County Sheriff's Office told TIME that several units were on the school premises at 7 pm Friday.

"It's extremely busy right now. All our units are trying to put this person in custody, "said the dispatcher.

Captain James Rowell, of the Pender County Sheriff's Office, said no injuries had been reported, according to local media reports, WWAY-TV, in Wilmington.

Write to Michael Zennie at the address [email protected].