MILWAUKEE — There was a large police presence at the Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building in downtown Milwaukee Thursday afternoon. 

Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) said police were dispatched to the Zeidler building at 3:07 p.m. after receiving reports of shots fired on the fourth floor of the building. 

MPD officials said police searched the building but did not find any evidence of gunfire. However, they did say there was a person of interest in the incident. 

“We do have a person of interest that we are seeking to interview during this time,” MPD Inspector Sheronda Grant said. “However, as I indicated before, this is not a shooting. There’s no indication that a shot’s fired took place at this location.”

A City of Milwaukee spokesperson confirmed staff in the Zeidler and City Hall buildings were sheltering in place late afternoon Thursday. Others were evacuated. However, the building has since been cleared by police and employees were told they could return inside to gather belongings. 

“Co-workers were scared. I was just working. There’s nothing you could do. I was just staying calm,” Jacob Peach, a City of Milwaukee employee who works on the ninth floor of Ziedler, said.

Peach said he didn’t hear anything unusual, but was told it was not safe to stay in the building.

He said he left as soon as he could.

Brad Houston, another city employee who works on the basement floor of Ziedler, said he was told about the reported gunshots but did not want to believe it.

“It’s, like, because I didn’t get the direct information. It was not real to me…” Houston said. “The one, sort of, official notification that we had was the alarm went off there was this high-pitched alarm. I thought now they are going to tell us what’s going on and no announcement.”

The investigation is ongoing, police said.