Three people were killed in a shooting at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV) this Wednesday afternoon, the city’s municipal police announced in a press conference. Authorities cordoned off the area of the public facility and carried out a large-scale operation at midday, a few minutes after those responsible for the center declared an emergency alert. The attacker, whose identity has not been released, was killed and is the fourth fatality in the attack. “There is no longer any risk to the students,” Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference this afternoon. Another person is admitted in critical condition.
In the USA there were again panic scenes in a school. At around 11:45 a.m. (local time), university management received a call in which someone warned of the presence of an armed person in the facilities. The first emergency report reached students at 11:54 a.m. This encouraged students to flee, hide or fight as a last resort to defend themselves against the shooter. “University police are responding to a shooting in Beam Hall,” the alert reads. “This is not a drill,” the university emphasized emphatically. As a precautionary measure in view of the umpteenth episode of armed violence in the country, all public campuses have been closed due to the state of emergency.
The first shots were heard in the Lee Business School building. Some witnesses told local press they heard at least 15 rapid shots. The public university is located in the center of Las Vegas, just a few meters from Harry Reid Airport and a few kilometers from the famous Strip, the city’s main tourist street.
The first message was followed by two more. More than 20 minutes after the first alarm, police reported that the focus of the emergency had shifted to the student union facilities. This building borders the business school to the east. According to the students, the bullets left several broken windows there. UNLV is the largest in the state of Nevada. Last year 25,000 students were enrolled.
The shooting sparked a major police operation. Numerous patrols arrived at the university a few minutes after a state of emergency was declared. Helicopters and tactical teams, so-called SWAT, also arrived at the scene. Videos of students who managed to leave classrooms showed police officers running with guns in hand.
There were moments of great tension in the classrooms. A junior told the local CBS station that his sister, who was at the university during the shooting, was locked up. “His teacher has closed the door and they are not letting anyone in. They are all silent. “She’s very scared,” said the boy. Other journalists read text messages in which students wrote to their families to say goodbye in case they didn’t make it out of the shooting alive.
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
Subscribe to
Some versions stated that there was more than one shooter, but this was not confirmed by police. Witnesses told local television they heard gunshots after the main suspect was killed. This led the authorities to act cautiously. Videos posted on social media showed students walking out of the classroom with their arms raised to show they were unarmed as they cleared classrooms.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.