A mass shooting incident took place on Wednesday (Dec 6) when a gunman opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, killing three people and wounding a fourth, who was listed in stable condition.
The suspect was shot dead by police.
The gunman has been identified as a career college professor who had applied for a job at the school, but he was rejected, an official with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
The suspect previously worked at East Carolina University in North Carolina, the official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to release the information publicly.
Previously, police had declined to publicly identify the assailant. The authorities have not even mentioned the gender of the suspect.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that several other people suffered panic attacks during the pandemonium.
He noted that a number of officers were also treated for minor injuries they received when they were searching the campus, known by its initials UNLV, for any additional victims or suspects.
Vincent Perez, who is a professor at the school, told MSNBC by phone that he had heard a lot of gunfire before taking cover on campus.
He said, “I would say just seven, eight shots, one after another, loud and very loud. As soon as we heard that, we ran back inside and we realised this was a real shooting, and there’s an active shooter on campus.”
UNLV police chief Adam Garcia told reporters that the law enforcement “immediately engaged the suspect in a shootout” after receiving a call reporting gunfire on campus at about 11:45 am (1945 GMT). He said the suspect was fatally shot by campus police.
“If it hadn’t been for the heroic actions of one of those police officers who responded, there could have been countless additional lives taken,” the sheriff added.
LeBron James says US gun laws are ‘ridiculous’
Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James said on Wednesday that US gun laws are ‘”ridiculous” when asked about a mass shooting on the University of Nevada campus.
James, who has spoken out about gun control after previous shootings, was talking after the Lakers 106-103 victory in the In-Season Tournament Playoffs.