Authorities say a school district superintendent wrestled an armed man to the ground at South Orangetown Middle School and took his gun away Tuesday.

Police say 37-year-old Peter Cocker was taken into custody after shots were fired at the Blauvelt school. Police say there were no reports of injuries and a lockdown was lifted at about 2:20 p.m.

According to police, the incident at the school on Van Wyck Road started at 11:30 a.m. when Cocker entered the school and fired several shots. It remains unclear if there was a hostage situation, but police say the superintendent, Ken Mitchell, eventually wrestled Cocker to the ground and disarmed him.

"If not for his quick thinking and heroic actions, this thing could have ended in a much different way," says Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner.A spokeswoman for the school says the students are "100 percent safe."

AP wire services were used in this report.

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