ATLANTA • Schoolyard routine turned into chaos Thursday at a DeKalb County elementary school when children began running and parents began getting reports with the words that have become one of their nightmares: active shooter.

It turned out the shots that struck 10 students at Wynbrooke Traditional Theme School came from a BB or pellet gun, and no injuries were life-threatening.

Shortly after lunch, children were on the playground at the Stone Mountain school when shots came from a wooded area adjacent to the playground.

Not knowing exactly what was going on, panicked parents rushed to the school to pick up their children.

Tarik Edmondson was among the first to arrive. “You just panic and you want to get your child,” he told members of the media assembled at the entrance.

Barbara Madison, who lives nearby and had rushed to get her niece, said, “My heart dropped when I heard about it.”

The shots appear to have come from a position away from the school grounds, a statement from the district said. It is not clear if the students were targeted.

DeKalb County School District police were still searching Thursday afternoon for the person who fired them.

District officials said there will be increased police presence at the school Friday.

Neither school officials nor school police would confirm if students would be allowed on the playground Friday.

A suspect had not been identified.

The access road to the north of the school complex was blocked by police.

There’s a small playground on that side of the school where kindergartners and first graders often play — away from the bigger kids.

The school goes up to fifth grade. There wasn’t much police presence near the playground designated for older students.