Several reported shot at Ala. party

"It's like I lost a lung," Vines said of his friend. "I don't know how I'm going to survive this."

Several emergency vehicles had converged overnight around the University Heights apartment complex where reports indicated a number of students who attend Auburn University typically reside. The building was swathed in yellow police tape.

It appeared that the shooting happened in an archway near the apartment complex information center, near the edge of the parking lot. Five uniformed officers guarded the area, which was sealed off with crime scene tape, and a handful of crime scene investigators were at work.

After daybreak Sunday, several uniformed officers stood near a disaster relief trailer parked at the building's entrance, which appeared to be a sort of command center. Some bystanders milled about, looking on at the scene.

An Auburn police dispatcher contacted by the Associated Press said early Sunday that she had no immediate information. Police did not immediately return repeated telephone messages seeking comment. Local coroner's officials also said they had no immediate comment.

Auburn University campus police said they had no information and referred calls to city police.

Vasha Hunt, a photographer with the Opelika-Auburn News, was at the apartment complex hours earlier and told the AP by telephone before dawn that authorities had set up a white tent there where there was a lot of activity. He said police kept a number of bystanders back for hours away from the scene.

Hunt said at least some of those who initially gathered outside appeared to be residents waiting for permission to enter their apartments.