East Carolina University is on lockdown following reports of an armed gunman near the campus. (Photo credit: WCTI)

A lockdown at East Carolina University has been lifted, about three hours after police reported spotting a man with an assault rifle near the campus.

“The situation has ended and there is no threat to the campus at this time,” ECU news services office spokeswoman Jeannine Manning-Hutson told ABCNews.com.

The school, located in Greenville, N.C., was on lockdown for about three hours  following a security camera sighting of a man believed to be carrying an assault weapon, a backpack and a cowboy hat.

No one was taken into custody, but authorities are still investigating.

Manning-Hutson said Greenville police spotted the man security cameras  and reported the sighting to the ECU police.

No shots were fired and the ECU police is working with the Greenville Police Department and the Pitt County Sheriff’s Department to investigate the sighting.

At 10:11 a.m., the school sent out an alert reporting an armed individual and the instructions to “secure offices and buildings.”

Residence halls were locked and all campus buildings were searched by authorities.

The school has an enrollment of nearly 28,000 students.