Wendell, N.C. — Several schools in eastern Wake County were briefly placed on lockdown Wednesday as authorities searched for suspects in connection with a home invasion and armed robbery in Wendell.

At one point, Wake County sheriff's deputies were searching for possibly four suspects in connection with the crime, which happened around 9:45 a.m. at a home on Fox Run Drive.

Three suspects were in custody Wednesday afternoon, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said. It wasn't clear if authorities were still looking for a fourth person.

A man who lives at the home and did not want to be identified said three men, two of them armed, kicked in the door while a fourth person, who drove the car, stayed outside.

The man said he was slightly injured while trying to fend off the intruders.

Further details about the investigation weren't clear, but authorities, at one point focused their search on a Jeep at a small shopping center at 7633 Knightdale Blvd. in Knightdale.

Deputies also appeared to be guarding a red sweatshirt in some grass and a black sneaker in the parking lot of a Waffle House restaurant next to the shopping center.

A Wake County Public School System spokeswoman said Knightdale High School, East Wake High School, East Wake Middle School, Forestville Road Elementary School, Wendell Elementary School, Lockhart Elementary School, Hodge Road Elementary School and Knightdale Elementary School

In a lockdown, exterior doors of a school are locked, and no one is allowed to enter or exit the building until police alert the school that it is OK.

"These steps are taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of our students and faculty," Wake schools spokeswoman Cris Mulder said.