Columbia police detain woman seen with gun near University of Missouri campus

A possibly "suicidal" woman armed with a handgun has been detained by police in central Missouri city of Columbia.

The University of Missouri described the suspect a black female in her "mid to late twenties" as they warned students to "take appropriate actions" and "avoid the area around the city's Memorial Union".

They added that she was wearing a hoodie bearing the University's logo, brown pants, and a pair of flip flops.

No injuries were reported after the suspect was apprehended. The campus returned to operating under normal conditions after the gun scare.

The university's website had encouraged its students to call up their parents to let them know that they are safe. Police and the school were also warning people to stay away from the area.

The school's campus was not put in lock down immediately after the woman was reported to police, but the school's alert system did encourage students to shelter in place if they were on campus.

Still, some students posted on social media that they had been ushered into the basement of one campus building to ensure their safety.

The Columbia campus at the University of Missouri is the flagship campus of that university system. Founded in 1939, the school was the first public school west of the Mississippi River in America. The school boast of more than 33,000 students on its rolls, including at least 13,000 full-time students.

Students attend the school from all 50 US states, and from 120 countries. The university offers more than 300 degree programmes.