Associated Press
LAS VEGAS 鈥� A person opened fire Wednesday on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, and at least three victims were taken to hospitals, according to police who reported the shooter was found dead.
鈥淩ight now, we know there are 3 victims, but unknown extent of the injuries,鈥� Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 鈥淭hat number could change.鈥�
McMahill did not say whether any victims had been killed.
Alerts went out across the campus after callers reported an active shooter to police at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, said Adam Garcia, a university police official. He said officers found and 鈥渆ngaged鈥� a suspect, who is now dead. It was not immediately clear how the suspect died.
Students and professors on the campus of 30,000 barricaded themselves inside classrooms and dorm rooms.
Student John Harris heard what he later realized was a gunshot as he was getting out of his car in the parking garage of an on-campus apartment complex. In the elevator, Harris he got an emergency text alert text from the university.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure what to believe,鈥� said Harris, 21, who ended up sheltering at a friend鈥檚 dorm. 鈥淏ut as I came down to the street, and I saw there were a bunch of cops in the parking lot at the student union, I knew what I heard was a gunshot and this wasn鈥檛 a drill.鈥�
Professor Kevaney Martin took cover under a desk in her classroom, where another faculty member and three students took shelter with her.
鈥淚t was terrifying, I can鈥檛 even begin to explain,鈥� Matin said. 鈥淚 was trying to hold it together for my students, and trying not to cry, but the emotions are something I never want to experience again.鈥�
Martin said she was texting friends and loved ones, hoping to receive word a suspect had been detained. When another professor came to the room and told everyone to evacuate, they joined dozens of others rushing out of the building. Martin had her students piled into her car and drove them off campus.
鈥淥nce we got away from UNLV, we parked and sat in silence,鈥� she said. 鈥淣obody said a word. We were in utter shock.鈥�
The university said on X, formerly Twitter, that the shooter was at the Beam Hall, Frank and Estella Building, home of UNLV鈥檚 Lee Business School, and that police were responding to an additional report of shots fired at the nearby student union.
Las Vegas police posted on X that a suspect 鈥渉as been located and is deceased鈥� about 40 minutes after the initial alert was posted.
Students and the community were alerted to the emergency by a university post on X.
鈥淭his is not a test,鈥� the university wrote. 鈥淩UN-HIDE-FIGHT.鈥�
Student Matthew Felsenfeld said he and about 12 classmates barricaded their door in a building near the student union.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the moment you call your parents and tell them you love them,鈥� said Felsenfeld, a 21-year-old journalism student.
He said he didn鈥檛 hear gunfire or see anyone injured but said he saw out the windows as police staged to enter the neighboring building. a short while later, police came and ushered them out.
Pierre Lescure, a UNLV senior, was riding his bicycle from home to campus for a meeting when he said about 10 police cars drove pass him.
鈥淭hey drove too fast and there was no ambulance, just cops. It was clearly a shooting,鈥� Lescure said. 鈥淚t could not be something else.鈥�
UNLV鈥檚 332-acre campus is less than 2 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip.
In response to the campus shootings, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop of all flights coming into Harry Reid International Airport. The university is roughly 2 miles (3 kilometers) north of the airport.
Tony Molinaro, an FAA spokesperson, referred a request to comment to Las Vegas law enforcement.
The shooting occurred in a city still scarred by one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, the at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas, in which 60 were killed and hundreds more wounded. The UNLV campus is just over 3 miles (5 kilometers) from that location.
We are responding to preliminary reports of an on the campus of UNLV near BEAM Hall. There appears to be multiple victims at this time. Please avoid the area and we will have more information soon.
— LVMPD (@LVMPD)