WINDER, United States (AFP)— Police took a suspect into custody after a high school shooting in the US state of Georgia on Wednesday, with students evacuated from the scene and local media reporting fatalities.

CNN, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, reported that four people had been killed and 30 wounded. Other outlets reported two deaths.

At least one air ambulance took a patient to hospital, according to footage from the scene.

“At about 9:30 this morning (1330 GMT) we received the first call that there was an active shooter on this campus,” said police official Jud Smith, standing outside Apalachee High School in Barrow County.

Smith said there were “multiple injuries,” and that a suspect had been taken into custody, offering no further details.

US media earlier reported school authorities had sent a message to parents saying they were enforcing a “hard lockdown after reports of gunfire.”

“Law enforcement is here. Please do not attempt to come to the school at this time while officers work to secure the area,” it added.

The school is located near the town of Winder, about 45 miles (70 kilometres) northeast of Atlanta, the state capital.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said on X that state agencies were responding to the incident.

The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting.

Local television footage showed ambulances driving across a school field, and scores of vehicles parked around the school.

A crowd of people was visible on the football field, with some gathered in a circle with their arms linked.

School shootings have become a regular occurrence in the United States, where about a third of adults own a firearm and regulations on purchasing even powerful military-style rifles are lax.

Polls show a majority of voters favor stricter controls on the use and purchase of firearms, but the powerful gun ownership lobby is opposed to additional restrictions.

This year, there have been at least 384 mass shootings — defined as a shooting involving at least four victims — across the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

At least 11,557 people have been killed in firearms violence, according to the GVA.