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At least three people are dead and one person is injured after a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Wednesday, police said. The suspect is also deceased, according to authorities.
In a brief press conference around 1:30 p.m. local time, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the suspect was “down” and that there was “no further threat” to the community. He urged people to continue sheltering in place.
“A number of victims” have been transported to hospitals nearby, McMahill said. “We have no idea on the motive.”
A person injured in the shooting is in “critical condition at a local hospital,” police tweeted around 3:30 p.m. local time.
The suspect was a male in his 60s, three law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News. The investigation into the suspect’s motive is ongoing, the sources said.
University police initially responded to reports of shots fired just before noon local time. Police said officers were responding to reports of an active shooter on the campus, near Beam Hall, which houses the Lee Business School.
Adam Garcia, the university’s vice president of public safety, told reporters that all campuses in the Nevada System of Higher Education in Southern Nevada have been “closed out of an abundance of caution.”
Three students who spoke to NBC News said they were giving a presentation in class on campus when the shooting happened. One said they felt like “a large target” thinking about what would happen if the shooter had entered the building.
“There were also 90% windows, not a lot of walls to hide behind, so that was quite concerning,” another student said.
The Clark County Fire Department has set up a family reunification center at the Las Vegas Convention Hall, about 4 miles north of the university campus, the university tweeted.
UNLV is roughly 3 miles from the location of the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history. In 2017, a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel into the crowd at the Route 91 music festival, killing 58 people and injuring roughly 500 others.
The U.S. hit a grim milestone on gun violence on Sunday, with 38 recorded mass killings involving guns this year, defined as shootings in which four people or more are killed, not including the shooter.
“Just as our nation hit a devastating record for mass shootings this year, students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas — who have been subject to active shooter drills since childhood — will feel the ripple effects of today for the rest of their lives,” said Kris Brown, the president of gun reform advocacy group Brady, said in a statement. “We should not accept a reality where an entire generation of Americans are defined by the constant threat of gun violence.”
Hayley Miller contributed reporting.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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