HOUSTON -- A building at the Johnson Space Center was evacuated Friday afternoon after a man with a gun barricaded himself inside and shots were reportedly fired, KPRC Local 2 reported.

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Officials said a report of a man with a weapon was spotted at about 1:40 p.m. inside building 44, which is the communications and tracking development laboratory, an engineering building. Johnson Space Center security officers, SWAT and Houston police officers were on the scene. Authorities said the man was barricaded in a second-floor office. His identity is not yet known. There are no reports of injuries. Officials said there were reports that between five to nine shots were fired. NASA is a secured facility that requires approved access. "If you are an employee and have the correct badge and the correct sticker on your car, you can generally drive right in," former astronaut Dr. Bill Fisher said. "If this were a contractor or a NASA employee, that person would have almost unlimited access to the Space Center once you're through the gate. For someone who is not a NASA employee, they have to go through a number of security checks and they would have to get a special badge." Johnson Space Center is located on NASA Parkway in Clear Lake. Building 44 was described as "one of the smaller" office buildings on the JSC campus, where Mission Control is based. Space Center Intermediate School, located at 17400 Saturn Lane, was placed in lockdown mode as a precaution, according to district officials. Parents were asked to not come to the campus until the all-clear is given.

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