4 dead, including suspect, after University of Nevada Las Vegas shooting

Police shot and killed a suspected shooter who opened fire on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus Wednesday, killing three and wounding another at the school where they reportedly sought work.

University police responded to reports of shots fired around 11:45 a.m. local time on the fourth floor of Beam Hall near the student union building, with campus alerting students to “RUN-HIDE-FIGHT.”

“This is not a test,” the emergency alert read.

UNLV police and LVMPD officers responded to the scene, officials said. Two campus detectives “immediately engaged the suspect in a shootout” outside of the building, UNLV Police Chief Adam Garcia told reporters at a press conference Wednesday night.

“The suspect was struck and is deceased at this time,” Garcia said.

The suspected shooter is a 67-year-old career college professor who previously taught at East Carolina University in North Carolina, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press, adding that they had unsuccessfully sought a job at UNLV.

The alleged gunman is 67 and also had connections to universities in Georgia, law enforcement sources told CN

LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said that police have confirmed the identity of the suspect, but are not releasing their name at this time.

He also declined to reveal the suspect’s affiliation with the UNLV or what they were doing on campus.

Three victims were found dead and a fourth was taken to an area hospital with gunshot wounds where they are recovering in stable condition, McMahill said. 

Four others were hospitalized after suffering panic attacks and two officers were treated for minor injuries suffered while clearing buildings, he said.

The shooter’s motive remains under investigation.

The UNLV campus is about two miles from the Las Vegas Strip and across from Harry Reid International Airport.

Roughly 30,000 students attend the school.

The campus was placed on lockdown almost immediately after the shooting was reported. Police evacuated students and staff on campus “floor by floor, room by room, building by building,” McMahill said.

UNLV officials asked students to remain sheltered in place as the buildings were evacuated one at a time.

One University of Nevada student told local outlet KVUU she hunkered down in the campus’ student union building after she learned about the active shooter alert.

“We found out cops were on site and we just sheltered in place until we were evacuated. And it took us about 30 minutes to get us evacuated,” the student, Jessica, said.

Another student described how about 200 students huddled together in the building as they heard gunshots ring out.

“A lot of people were panicking,” the student, who did not wish to be named, told the outlet.

She said armed officers evacuated them out of the building with their hands up. As they were escorted out of the student union, she said they “walked past one of the windows, the window was shot out, glass everywhere.”

A reunification center for those who had family members on campus has been established at the Las Vegas Convention Center, according to Clark County officials.

Officials said that in addition to UNLV, all other Nevada System of Higher Education institutions in the southern part of the state were shut down for the remainder of the day.

UNLV Police Chief Garcia said that the school’s campus would remain closed through Friday. The school could still be closed next week, when students are scheduled to take final exams, he said.

UNLV’s scheduled men’s basketball game against the University of Dayton has been canceled, the Ohio college’s basketball program announced on social media.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman offered her “condolences on behalf of the entire city and the community,” at Wednesday night’s press conference.

“What a tragic time for us but it’s time to be positive and do something,” she added.