The University of Nevada at Las Vegas will stay shut for a day as authorities work to understand why a shooter opened fire on campus, killing three people and wounding a fourth as students and faculty prepared for final exams.
Police have declined to publicly identify the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting, going so far as to avoid any mention of the assailant’s gender, nor have they disclosed information about the four victims or their connection to the university.
The school, known by its initials UNLV, will be closed at least through today, according to police. The UNLV website said classes had been cancelled through December 10.
UNLV president Keith Whitfield wrote on the site that he was grieving the victims, and urged university community members to seek help if they needed it.
“My heart breaks for the many students, faculty, staff, parents, loved ones, and community members who suffered through hours of painful uncertainty while officers ensured that our campus was safe and secure again,” Whitfield wrote.
Law enforcement received a call reporting gunfire on campus at about 11.45am and “immediately engaged the suspect in a shootout,” UNLV police chief Adam Garcia said. He said the suspect was fatally shot by campus police.
No mention was made of a possible motive for the violence, and police did not disclose the type of firearm used.
Witness Cesar Marquez, 33, a political organiser, was in a meeting with about 70 students when the shooting broke out. Marquez and the students locked the door, turned the light down, and hid under the tables, he said.
“We just stayed quiet,” he said. “Stayed right there until the SWAT team came in and were able to evacuate us. It was a scary time when somebody you don’t know tried to open the door and we weren’t sure if it was the shooter or it was the police.”
The surviving gunshot victim was listed in stable condition, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said at a news conference on Wednesday.
US President Joe Biden will speak about the shooting during a pre-scheduled stop in the city today, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said last night.
l A 14-year-old girl shot a fellow pupil dead and wounded five other children yesterday before killing herself at a school in the Russian city of Bryansk, officials said.
“According to preliminary investigation data, a 14-year-old girl brought a pump-action shotgun to school, from which she fired shots at her classmates,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Investigators were working to establish the motive, the statement said.
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