BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo police are investigating a homicide that happened near the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts at the intersection of Woodlawn Avenue and Masten Avenue.

About 1:30 Thursday afternoon, 28-year old Reginald Barnes was gunned down inside of van while traveling down Woodlawn.

Police will not say whether the man was driving the van at the time or if anyone else was in the vehicle when the shooting happened. The School for Visual and Performing Arts was placed on lockdown and the children were moved to the other side of the school building. Police said the children were never in danger.

"First of all, I'd like to say that the children were never in harm's way. They were never in danger. The shooting happened at the corner of Masten and Woodlawn and after that the vehicle traveled a short distance, a couple hundred feet down the street and came to rest outside of the school. The students were never in danger," said Buffalo Police Deputy Commissioner Kimberly Beaty.

Beaty also spoke about the recent spike of violence this month and said police have made several arrests in those cases and they intend make more arrests in the following weeks.