The campus of Colby College was put on lockdown early Saturday morning, officials said, after gunshots were fired in a student housing complex during what one student called a massive annual party.

Colby College said no students were hurt during an altercation that involved a firearm being discharged at the Alfond Senior Apartments on the campus in Waterville.

In a statement to Spectrum News Maine, Waterville Police say 24-year-old Andrew Gifford was taken into custody and charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

Police say Gifford was taken to Maine General Hospital where he was treated for injuries and placed under arrest.  He was transported to the Kennebec County Jail to await arraignment in June. His bail was set at $10,000 cash.

“It is very fortunate that no innocent bystanders were hurt by this reckless behavior,” Interim Police Chief William Bonney said. “I feel terrible for the students and parents who had to go through the trauma of this event, worrying that one of their loved ones may be hurt or worse.”

Bonney praised the responding officers.

“The officers had no idea what they were going into when they entered the building,” he said. “Fortunately no one was seriously hurt and the suspect was taken into custody without incident, but the officers were most certainly prepared for the worst on arrival.”

Landon Kissell, an 18-year-old freshman from Manhasset, New York, said he left campus by car “just to play it 100% safe” about five minutes after receiving a message about the incident at 1:49 a.m.

“We have an open campus so there is not any security to stop anyone from entering or leaving campus so I was able to just drive right out,” Kissell told the AP in a social media direct message, adding that he stayed in communication with his friends on campus.

“It was more at first just a state of confusion where nobody understood what was going on. There were different rumors swirling immediately of what was actually happening,” he said.

“There was definitely some scramble to find a secure location but since everyone was inside already due to the temperature that most people either stayed right where they were or went to the next building over and locked themselves there,” Kissell said.

Alfond apartments, where the shot was fired, was the site of what Kissell described as “a massive party night” that takes place for about 24 hours every year around St. Patrick’s Day. The holiday is on March 17 but the party, known as “doghead,” was moved up by a week this year because the holiday falls during Colby’s spring break, he said.

Kissell first learned of the lockdown from his dormitory resident assistant, who sent a text to students in the Sturtevent residence hall.

“Everyone was freaking out at first especially because nobody ever expected having to go into lockdown in little Waterville, Maine,” Kissell said. “But since an official email was sent out by the school things have been better.”

Kissell did not initially see emails that told students to remain in place.

“I never saw those emails until just now because who would think to check their email in a situation of panic right?” Kissell said at 3:25 a.m. from his car in the state capital of Augusta, about 20 miles south of the Colby campus.

Colby, founded in 1813, is the 12th oldest liberal arts college in the United States, according to the school's website.