A SUSPECT HAS been taken into custody following reports of gunfire at a school in the Atlanta area, according to the school superintendent for the area.

Earlier, a staff member at the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Georgia’s Dekalb County called local TV channel WSBTV to report that there was a gunman in the building.

According to the station:

The person told a Channel 2 assignment desk editor that the gunman asked to call WSB-TV. Shots could be heard over the call.

The same news channel says it has confirmed from multiple sources that the person taken into custody was a “white man in his 20s who was armed with an AK-47″.

News footage taken from a helicopter showed children running from the school building, with officials later confirming that a head-count was taking place.

A local schools official has since said all students are now accounted for. Area superintendent Michael Thurmond has said he not aware of any injuries.

DeKalb County School Board Chairman Melvin Johnson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution there were reports of shots being fired inside a main school building.

The school provides places for 810 students, according to its website.

- Additional reporting by AP