Bill Silverfarb/Daily Journal Police are searching for three suspects who fled Skyline College after shooting an 18-year-old in the buttocks.

An altercation between two groups of African-American males in a Skyline College parking lot led to the shooting of one man and a several-hour lockdown and evacuation of the campus, San Bruno police Cmdr. Mark Catalano said yesterday.

Police are searching for three African-American males in connection to the shooting. The victim, 18, was shot in the buttocks and was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The incident occurred on the north side of campus in parking lot No. 6 adjacent to the library and learning center.

Police were called to the campus at 1:30 p.m. on a call of shots fired. Police immediately locked down the campus and evacuated the community college, classroom by classroom, to ensure the safety of some 3,000 students and staff.

Students were forced to leave their vehicles on campus and walk down College Drive where it intersects Sheryl Drive in San Bruno.

Police, not sure if the three suspects had fled the campus, blocked the two roads in and out of the college to inspect any passengers in vehicles that were already leaving the campus. After the lockdown, no more vehicles were allowed to leave and students were forced to call friends and family for transportation. SamTrans buses were also rerouted.

The three suspects, all African-American males, were seen driving in an iridescent purple Ford Escort, with a rear spoiler, chrome rims and Melody Toyota paper plates, police said.

Skyline basketball player Justin Heckford was studying in the library when a man came in and yelled, “I’ve been shot. Call 911.” Heckford, however, thought it may have been a prank at first until the victim turned around and revealed a blood-soaked white T-shirt.

“No one came to his aid at first until he went limping out of the library,” Heckford, 23, said. The campus, however, wasn’t locked down until almost 30 minutes later, he recalls. “It was kind of quiet for a while before we were notified of the lockdown.”

Another student, Raydan Alhubiashy, saw the suspects walking toward him, one holding a silver-plated handgun in his right hand.

“They were walking casually but briskly toward me. They were leaving the campus, I guess,” Alhubiashy said. “I wasn’t really scared. I didn’t think they were going to hurt me.”

Alhubiashy said he saw some spent casings in the parking lot.

The incident was not a random act, Catalano said, but rather a dispute between the two groups of men.

Hundreds of students strolled down College Drive off the campus and were not allowed back to retrieve their vehicles until after 4:15 p.m.

Police were still staged at the campus into the evening searching for evidence.

Surrounding residents in the Portola Highlands neighborhood were notified by telephone of the incident, Catalano said.

Four San Bruno elementary schools — Crestmoor, John Muir, Portola and Rollingwood — were placed on lockdown at the advice of police, said David Hutt, superintendent for the San Bruno Park Elementary School District.

The notification came about 2:30 p.m. Schools were locked down for about 10 minutes before police gave the OK to lift the lockdown, Hutt said.

Parents were notified via telephone.

The incident occurred around the end of the school day. Once the lockdown was lifted, students were able to leave at normal dismissal times. Classes in the San Bruno Park Elementary School District will resume tomorrow.

Skyline canceled afternoon classes and all evening classes were canceled as well, according to Barbara Christensen, spokeswoman for the San Mateo County Community College District.

Student Alyssa Martinez, 18, heard the gunshot and later saw the victim transported on a gurney into a waiting ambulance.

“I was scared. Police were everywhere with rifles drawn,” Martinez said.

Police had students exit some of the buildings with their hands raised in the air, other students said.

Other students were curious if cameras on campus had caught any of the incident.

Officers from Millbrae, South San Francisco, the California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Office were on the campus to help with the evacuation.

The suspects are described as three African-American males, all about 18, and all wearing jeans. One suspect wore a white shirt, a second wore a red shirt and the third suspect wore a black and white striped shirt, Catalano said. One of the suspects has dreadlocks, Catalano said.

Heather Murtagh contributed to this report.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.