A lone shooter unleashed gunfire on the main campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring a fourth. Police reported that the suspect was subsequently shot dead during a news briefing held hours later. Authorities chose not to publicly disclose the assailant’s identity or gender, and no information was provided about the four victims or their connection to the university.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the stable condition of the surviving gunshot victim. He noted that amidst the chaos, several individuals experienced panic attacks, and officers were treated for minor injuries sustained during a search of the expansive campus for additional victims or suspects, though none were found. No motive for the violence was mentioned, and details about the type of firearm used were withheld by the police.
Professor Vincent Perez, from UNLV, recounted hearing numerous loud shots before taking cover on campus. He emphasized the realization that a genuine shooting was underway, prompting a swift retreat indoors.
Law enforcement, responding to a call reporting gunfire around 11:45 a.m. (1945 GMT), promptly engaged the suspect in a shootout, according to UNLV police chief Adam Garcia. The suspect was fatally shot by campus police, preventing potentially countless additional casualties, as highlighted by Sheriff McMahill.
The shooting initiated on the fourth floor of Beam Hall, housing the university’s business school, before progressing to other floors and ultimately concluding outside, where the suspect was neutralized. The university announced its closure at least through Friday. Located less than 2 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, the UNLV campus has an enrollment of approximately 25,000 undergraduates and 8,000 post-graduates and doctoral candidates.
Sheriff McMahill observed that many students he encountered appeared severely shaken, reminiscent of the trauma following the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. During that incident, a gunman fired from a high-rise hotel window onto a music festival, resulting in 60 deaths and numerous injuries, marking it as the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history.
