UNLV mass shooter was career college professor, source says, but unknown whether he had a connection with school
Originally Published: 06 DEC 23 15:15 ET
Updated: 06 DEC 23 20:47 ET
By John Miller, Cheri Mossburg, Sara Smart and Taylor Romine, CNN
(CNN) — [Breaking news update, published at 8:47 p.m. ET]
The suspect in a Wednesday shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus that left three dead and a fourth critically injured is a 67-year-old career college professor with connections to schools in Georgia and North Carolina, a law enforcement source told CNN, but it’s unknown what connection he had with the school where the mass shooting took place.
[Previous update, published at 8:34 p.m.]
Three people are dead following a shooting Wednesday on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus, Las Vegas Metro Police say, and a fourth is in critical condition at a hospital.
“According to our investigators at the scene, we have three deceased victims and one additional victim in critical condition at a local hospital. The suspect in this #activeshooter incident is also deceased,” the department said on X.
At a Wednesday evening news conference, Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities know the identity of the suspect, but will not be releasing his name until his family has been notified.
McMahill said the shooter was engaged outside of Beam Hall by campus police officers. There was a gathering outside the hall where students were playing games and were building things with Legos, according to the sheriff.
“What happened today is a heinous, unforgivable crime… 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,” he said.
In addition to the four victims who were shot, four people were taken to hospitals due to symptoms of panic attacks, the sheriff said. Two law enforcement officers were injured during the search for victims.
Three patients were taken to Sunrise Hospital, spokesperson Marissa Mussi said.
Police responded earlier Wednesday to reports of a shooting with multiple victims on the campus, near Beam Hall, the home of the university’s Lee Business School, according to an earlier social media post.
At 11:54 a.m. local time, the university posted an emergency notice online, saying, “University Police responding to report of shots fire in BEH evacuate to a safe area, RUN-HIDE-FIGHT.”
Shortly after, the university also said on X police were responding to “additional report of shots fired in the Student Union,” and advised people to evacuate the area.
“I was sitting outside, I was just having breakfast. I heard three loud booms and I was like, oh, what was that?” a student told CNN affiliate KVVU. “Police showed up, then I ran inside.
“After two minutes, more shots. I ran into the basements, and I was there for 20,” the student said. “I was just hearing a lot of shots.”
This latest incident comes as students are in the middle of a study week before taking final exams and going on winter break, in the same city that suffered the worst mass shooting in modern US history in 2017.
Police are working to uncover evidence and identify a motive, the sheriff said.
Shooting took place near scene of deadliest mass shooting in modern US history
UNLV is located just a few miles from the site of that mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, which left at least 58 people dead and hundreds more wounded. In the years after the massacre, two more victims died of shooting-related injuries.
A student told CNN affiliate KSNV he was in class in the building next to the student union and saw law enforcement officers going in.
“We were really nervous so we barricaded all up,” he told the Las Vegas station. He and the other students took a few minutes to look out the windows, he said.
“We saw students running out in single file lines with their hands up, scared, and we saw officers going in,” the student, who said he was in journalism class with about a dozen others, added.
He said they didn’t hear any shooting or see anyone who might have been the shooter.
“Tragic and heartbreaking news coming out of @unlv. Praying for everyone on campus as law enforcement responds to the situation,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman posted on X.
The White House said it was monitoring the shooting reported at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) “very closely.”
The second gentleman was also already scheduled to deliver remarks tonight at the Newtown Action Alliance Foundation’s 11th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence, the White House added.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Steve Almasy, Brammhi Balarajan and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.
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