Hours after locking down the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) campus Monday night, police shot and killed a gunman after he challenged them with a handgun, WRAL reported.

NCCU officials placed the school on lockdown at about 10:15 p.m. Monday night after reports of an armed man suspected of a residential robbery surfaced. The suspect was found in a wooded area near Cecil and Lincoln Street, toward NCCU's southeast end of campus.

The suspected man, who has not been identified by police but confirmed as not being an NCCU student, opposed officers with a shotgun, according to campus police chief Tim Bellamy. Police exchanged fire with him before he escaped to the woods.

Police used K-9 units to track the suspect and exchanged fire with him a second time. Campus police shot and killed the man after he refused orders to surrender.

In addition to the residential robbery, police believe he was involved in an armed robbery of an individual in the downtown area. The suspect was gunned down just before midnight and the school's campus lockdown was lifted at 1:09 a.m.

NCCU chancellor Debra Saunders-White issued a statement to the school's community after the conclusion of the lockdown.

"I applaud the NCCU Police for their responsiveness and vigilance in keeping our campus safe," she wrote in the statement. "NCCU is committed to supporting our community during this time."

Bellamy told WNCN the suspect was involved in an ongoing investigation by the Durham police when he was spotted on campus. Durham police chief Jose Lopez was present on the scene, but it was the NCCU campus police who apprehended the suspect. The three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave. The State Bureau of Investigations has taken over the investigation.

Saunders-White announced classes and events would be relocated Tuesday and that students could receive counseling through the school's services. She also announced she would make an address at a Town Hall meeting Tuesday.