WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - East Carolina University lifted its locked-down status on Wednesday after reports of a man carrying a rifle near the campus proved "unfounded," the school said on its website.

Residence halls and school buildings were secured for about three hours as police searched the Greenville, North Carolina campus and a nearby neighborhood looking for the alleged armed individual, the school said.

"We are relieved that the reports of this incident turned out to be unfounded," Chancellor Steve Ballard said in a statement. "East Carolina University will always err on the side of campus safety when these situations arise."

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Greg McCune)