UNLV shooting: Here’s what we know about the victims, suspect
(NEXSTAR) – Three people are dead and another is hospitalized after a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law enforcement confirmed Wednesday.
During a 5 p.m. press conference, authorities said the suspected shooter engaged in a shootout with two campus officers who responded to the scene. The alleged shooter, whose identity has not yet been released, was struck.
Less than two hours after the first shots rang out, law enforcement said the suspected shooter was dead and there was no further threat to the community.
Here’s what we know so far.
When and where did the shooting happen?
The shooting started at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday on UNLV’s campus, said Adam Garcia, the vice president and director of the school’s police services.
Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a Wednesday evening press conference that the shooting began on the fourth floor of the Beam Hall, Frank and Estella Building, home of UNLV’s Lee Business School. The shooting continued across multiple floors before moving outside the building, he explained.
Authorities have not released any details about the weapon involved.
3 dead, 1 in stable condition after shooting on UNLV campus; suspect dead
“This is not a test,” the university warned students. “RUN-HIDE-FIGHT.”
Officers from every local police agency responded to the active shooting call. They were still working to clear the university campus, building by building, as of 4:15 p.m. As of 5:15 p.m., it’s unclear if authorities are still clearing the campus but McMahill said the investigation will continue overnight and into Thursday morning.
All public Nevada colleges and universities were closed for the remainder of the day out of an abundance of caution, though Garcia stressed there was no further threat suspected.
How many victims are there in the UNLV shooting?
At 3:45 p.m., Las Vegas Metro Police confirmed three victims were killed as a result of the shooting. During a 5 p.m. press conference, Sheriff Kevin McMahill said a fourth person who was injured remains hospitalized and their condition has been updated from critical to stable.
No additional details about the victims were released during Wednesday evening’s press conference, which you can watch below.
Four people were also transported to area hospitals for panic attacks, McMahill said. Two officers received treatment for minor injuries they incurred while sweeping the campus.
What do we know about the suspected active shooter?
Two detectives with the campus police department responded to the scene and “engaged in a shootout” with the suspect, Garcia explained during Wednesday’s press conference.
“The suspect was struck and is deceased at this time,” Garcia said during Wednesday evening’s press conference. Las Vegas Police confirmed the suspect had been located and pronounced dead about 40 minutes after the initial alert was posted. It wasn’t immediately clear how the suspect died.
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The suspect is an older white man who may have had a connection to a person who works on campus, two sources tell 8 News Now Investigators at Nexstar’s KLAS. Sheriff McMahill said during a Wednesday night press conference that they have identified the suspect, but were withholding the release of that information until the next of kin has been notified.
Authorities have also not released any information about a motive, but sources tell KLAS the suspect is believed to have been a former professor who recently applied for a job on the campus and was denied.
UNLV has more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at its 332-acre campus is less than 2 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip. The campus will remain closed the rest of the week, according to Garcia.
The shooting occurred in a city still scarred by one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas, in which 60 were killed and hundreds more wounded. The UNLV campus is just over three miles from that location.
The Associated Press contributed to this breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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