PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Four men are in custody after a shooting Thursday morning just a block away from the Garrahy Judicial Complex in downtown Providence.

A report of shots fired came in to Providence police at 10:48 a.m., after a possibly gang-related dispute broke out inside the courthouse and moved outside after deputy sheriffs ejected the participants, Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements Jr. said.

Detectives converged on the downtown area and quickly took four young males into custody. The suspect who was believed to have fired the gun was picked up behind the Coro Center, Clements said.

There were no reported victims, but detectives will check with the hospitals, Clements said.

Detectives recovered a handgun, according to Commander Thomas Verdi.

"Everyone is safe," Clements said. The suspect "clearly had an intended target."

Lawyer Nick Obolensky was inside the fourth-floor court hallway when he saw several young men get into a fight and the deputy sheriffs eject them, he said.

The young men went outside, where the fight continued and gravitated on to Pine Street.

Garrahy courthouse was placed on lockdown for about a half-hour, with no one allowed to go in or out, Amanda Lysikatos, who'd been in court on a matter, said as she watched detectives work the scene.

Beverly Berard, of North Providence, said she saw about 10 young people fighting and cursing in the center of Pine Street.

"All of a sudden a gun went off," said Berard, who works at the Pierce Atwood law firm.

Four to five people scattered in one direction on foot. Four to five others ran in the opposite direction, she said. One of the people involved had a ponytail and wore red shorts.

"You hear fighting at the courthouse, but never a gun shot," she said.

A suspect was seen sprinting down Fountain Street moments later.

The scene drew the attention of criminal justice majors at Johnson and Wales University as police and prosecutors questioned witnesses. Several left the homeland security class after hearing gunfire and checking Providence police scanner activity.

"I wanted to go so bad," said Michael Clark, a senior who plans to go to law school.

Alexis Pollack, also a senior and budding cop, documented the scene on Facebook Live.

It is the second shooting outside a courthouse in less than a year. A 22-year-old Pawtucket man was critically injured after a noontime drive-by shooting in January near the Licht Judicial Complex.

Discussions are afoot in the state judiciary about changing the policy that bars deputy sheriffs from carrying guns. Since 2015, some deputy sheriffs have carried Tasers in addition to batons, pepper spray and handcuffs.

Craig Berke, spokesman for the judiciary, said the deputy sheriffs armed themselves during the incident and security was enhanced at the courthouse. Surveillance video taken in and outside the courthouse is being reviewed, he said.

Berke released this statement late Thursday: "Court security procedures are constantly under review and the Judiciary's administration is certainly looking at this event. We are always looking at measures that will further enhance the safety of litigants, the public, judges and staff within our courthouses. Our security protocols worked today. There was no breach within the courthouse or on the courthouse grounds, not even when one of the subjects involved sought refuge from the shooting by returning to the courthouse, where he was screened and detained for the police."

This story was updated multiple times, most recently at 11:46 a.m., 12:43 p.m. and 3:59 p.m.