A Santa Clarita elementary school was placed on lockdown Thursday after a man reportedly armed with a machete barricaded himself in a nearby home, authorities said.

“We are still waiting for notifications from the Sheriff’s Department that we are clear,” an office staff member at Canyon Springs Community School said when reached by phone.

Around 2:30 p.m., Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported assault with a deadly weapon on Plumwood Avenue near the school, said Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Deputy Kabrina Borbon.

“Right now the suspect is barricaded,” she said. The school remains on lockdown “just for caution, for safety reasons,” Borbon said.

In a Facebook post, the Sheriff’s Department said people should avoid the area. An advisory bulletin from the department said some surrounding homes had been evacuated “for the safety of the residents.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.