Police reported that three individuals were killed and a fourth was critically injured in an assault on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus on Wednesday. Authorities also confirmed the death of the suspected shooter.
The incident occurred shortly before noon, prompting a rapid police response to the campus, located just a few miles from the renowned Las Vegas Strip. During the episode, students sought refuge by barricading themselves in classrooms. Approximately 40 minutes after the initial report of an active shooter, authorities declared the area secure.
The police have not disclosed the shooter's identity or the motive behind the attack. The city, still haunted by the October 2017 mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay casino, where 60 people were killed and hundreds were injured, now faces another tragic event.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), law enforcement revealed that three individuals were killed, and a fourth person was in critical condition at a hospital. Additional details were not immediately provided, but authorities planned to share more information during a scheduled news conference at 5 p.m. PT.
Alerts were issued across the campus following reports of an active shooter received by the police at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Adam Garcia, a university police official. Officers located and confronted a suspect, who is now deceased, although the circumstances of the suspect's death remain unclear.
Amid the chaos, students and professors, numbering around 30,000 on the campus, took refuge by barricading themselves inside classrooms and dorm rooms. Witness John Harris recounted hearing a gunshot as he arrived at a parking garage, receiving an emergency text alert from the university. Shocked and uncertain, he sought shelter in a friend's dorm.
Professor Kevaney Martin described the terror of taking cover under a desk in her classroom, accompanied by another faculty member and three students. The ordeal left her texting friends and loved ones, desperately hoping for news of the suspect's apprehension. Evacuation orders led Martin and others to rush out of the building, with Martin eventually driving her students away from the campus in disbelief.
The university specified on X that the shooter was at the Beam Hall, Frank and Estella Building, housing UNLV's Lee Business School. Police were also responding to another report of shots fired at the nearby student union.
Las Vegas police, posting on X, confirmed the location of the suspect and declared the individual deceased about 40 minutes after the initial alert. The university's urgent post on X instructed students and the community, "This is not a test. RUN-HIDE-FIGHT."
Student Matthew Felsenfeld described barricading a door with about 12 classmates in a building near the student union. He emphasized the gravity of the situation, saying, "It's the moment you call your parents and tell them you love them." Despite not hearing gunfire or witnessing injuries, he observed police staging outside and was later escorted out.
UNLV senior Pierre Lescure, on his way to campus, noticed a significant police presence, interpreting it as a clear indication of a shooting. The 332-acre campus, situated less than 2 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop for flights into Harry Reid International Airport. The university's basketball game at the University of Dayton, Ohio, was also canceled in response to the tragic events.
