Las Vegas police say suspect dead after reports of university shooting

(Reuters) – Las Vegas police on Wednesday said a suspect was dead after they responded to reports of a shooting on the local campus of the University of Nevada, adding that there appeared to have been multiple victims.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, in a statement posted to the social media platform X, did not elaborate on the circumstances of the incident, or the number or condition of the victims. It urged residents to avoid the area.

Vincent Perez, a professor at the school, told MSNBC by phone that he had heard a lot of gunfire.

“I would say just seven, eight shots, one after another, loud and very loud,” he said.

“As soon as we heard that, we ran back inside and we realized this is a real shooting, and there’s an active shooter on campus,” Perez said as he took shelter on campus.

Police said the incident occurred around Beam Hall, a campus building that houses the business school and other facilities, adding, “there appears to be multiple victims at this time.”

In a separate post, campus police said there was an additional report of shots fired in the Student Union.

The first reports of the incident surfaced shortly after noon local time, and within about a half hour, Las Vegas police reported: “The suspect has been located and is deceased.”

However, the university issued an online advisory indicating that an all-clear had not been given.

“Police ask that you continue to please shelter in place. Police are evacuating buildings one at a time. This remains an active investigation. The suspect has been contained,” the campus said on X.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus, located less than two miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, has a student enrollment of some 25,000 undergraduates and 8,000 post-graduates and doctoral candidates.

In Washington, the White House said it was monitoring the situation in Las Vegas.

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