Between 12 and 16 people were taken hostage yesterday at Dyersburg State Community College in Tennessee by an unidentified man with a gun and a knife.

After holding the group of students and a teacher hostage for several hours, the man eventually released three people, but continued to detain the remaining hostages. No immediate injuries were reported among the group.

The Dyersburg Police SWAT Team and a negotiation team of about five people were at the site during the hostage tenure. They communicated with the man through a wall, although the perpetrator made no specific demands to the negotiators throughout the standoff. In fact, he refused to discuss any negotiations.

Officials suspected the man was a student at the community college, but did not know what caused the incident.

When news of the incident spread, all students were cleared from the campus. Faculty members were allowed to stay on campus.

Dyersburg is located approximately 80 miles from Memphis.