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Updated April 20, 2025, at 6:53 p.m.

Police responded to reports of gunshots at the Harvard Square train station on Sunday afternoon, according to a series of alerts from the Harvard University Police Department.

Richard Sullivan, an MBTA Transit Police superintendent, confirmed that officers responded to “a report of shots fired” at the Harvard Square station at 2:12 p.m.

A preliminary investigation by police found that “a male, while on the southbound platform, apparently armed with a firearm appeared to fire approximately 4 to 5 rounds at a targeted individual,” Sullivan wrote, adding that no one was injured and the suspect fled the scene.

A shelter-in-place order to Harvard affiliates was lifted at 3:19 p.m. Two previous alerts, one issued at 2:46 p.m. and the second at 3:08 p.m., asked students to shelter in place as a search for suspects was ongoing.

Brianna M. Carbajal ’26, who was waiting at the Red Line station in Harvard Square, said she heard what sounded like three or four shots fired shortly after 2 p.m., then saw a man running out of the train station holding a handgun.

Marcos Garcia ’28, who was in the Red Line station during the shooting, said that he saw the man run from the T station and into Harvard Square towards Brattle Street.

“I already talked to the police, and they are looking for him right now in Brattle Square and the Yard,” Garcia said.

An MBTA train passed through the Harvard Square station at roughly the time of the shooting. Aaron E. Beaulieu, a Leominster resident who was on the train, reported hearing three or four loud noises from outside the train.

He said the train stopped, then the conductor walked through all the cars “telling everybody just to bear with us for a moment.” The train moved out of the station, then reversed and stopped at the station.

“We saw nothing but police officers and people vacating,” Beaulieu said.

The turnstiles at the Harvard Square station were blocked by caution tape as of Sunday afternoon, preventing pedestrians from entering most of the station. But police were not blocking people from entering the station, according to an eyewitness.

An alert from the MBTA reported that Red Line trains could be delayed by roughly 15 minutes due to “police activity at Harvard.” Some trains could remain stopped at stations, according to the alert.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Ella F. Niederhelman can be reached at ella.niederhelman@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @eniederhelman.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart.