Police are searching the area around Kite Hill this evening for an armed suspect, an SFPD spokesperson told us tonight.

Residents of 19th Street between Douglass and Yukon first alerted us to the activity shortly before 9pm, noting several police cars and officers in front of their house. Some appeared to be wearing protective vests and carrying "machine guns," one witness told us.

Other residents in the area took to Twitter:

7 cop cars, many guns/shields on our cul de sac. Gunman on Kite Hill. @breakingsfnews @abc7newsBayArea @kron4news pic.twitter.com/pMEyFyFxUF

— Rory John O'Brien (@tehror) January 26, 2015

This explains the officer with an assault rifle on the corner. MT @SFBreaking: SFPD searching near Kite Hill for suspect in Castro shooting

— Brian Leubitz (@BrianLeubitz) January 26, 2015

SFPD spokesperson Grace Gatpandan confirmed to us tonight that police were searching the area for an armed suspect, though whether a gun-related crime had occurred was unclear. Gatpandan told us she hadn't received any notification of a shooting in the Castro, but had no other information to provide.

Update, 1/26: Here's more on last night's incident via SFPD:

At 9:02pm, officers responded to the 300 block of Potrero Avenue regarding a robbery of a business with a gun. The suspect then fled and was spotted in the area of Kite Hill. A search was conducted for the suspect but we were unable to locate him.

We'll update this story with any additional developments.