3 dead in Las Vegas university shooting
LAS VEGAS—Three people were killed and another seriously injured by a gunman who was shot dead by police at a US university on Wednesday.
The incident at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a short distance from the gambling hub’s tourist-packed Strip, was the latest in the United States, where gun violence is a part of the fabric of daily life.
“Three of the victims are confirmed deceased,” Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill told a press conference.
He said a fourth victim had been critically injured by the shooting but that condition later upgraded to stable.
The identity of the shooter was not immediately released, but CNN and the Los Angeles Times, quoting law enforcement sources, said he was a 67-year-old career college professor with links to schools in Georgia and North Carolina. But it was not clear what affiliation he had with the Nevada university where the shooting took place.
US President Joe Biden in a statement decried the latest “horrific act of gun violence” to terrorize a college campus.
“This is not normal, and we can never let it become normal,” said Biden.
Outspoken advocate
NBA superstar LeBron James, an outspoken advocate for tighter gun control legislation, called for tougher US gun laws after arriving in Las Vegas for the Los Angeles Lakers’ semifinal clash with the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
“It just goes back to what I said before about guns in America. I think it’s such a longer conversation, but we keep dealing with the same story, this same conversation everybody single time it happens, and it just continues to happen.
“The ability to get a gun, the ability to do these things over and over and over, and there’s been no change, is literally ridiculous. It makes no sense that we continue to lose innocent lives, on campuses, schools, at shopping markets and movie theaters. It’s ridiculous. The fact that we haven’t changed anything—it’s actually been easier to be able to own a firearm. It’s stupid,” the 38-year-old player said.
Police responded within minutes to reports of an active shooter at 11:45 a.m., McMahill told a press conference.
Two officers “immediately engaged the suspect in a shootout” and the suspect “was struck and is deceased at this time,” said university police chief Adam Garcia.
Students playing
The incident began as an outdoor gathering of students was taking place.
“Students were playing games and eating food, there were tables set up for them to build Legos,” said McMahill.
“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.”
Officers were continuing to search the campus, which will remain closed through Friday, but “there is no more ongoing threat to our community,” the sheriff said.
Las Vegas is a gambling and entertainment hub that attracts millions of visitors every year, many of whom come to see large, high-profile events.
Mass shootings are common in the United States, a country where there are more guns than people, and where attempts to clamp down on their spread are always met with stiff resistance.
The country has recorded over 600 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nongovernmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed. —AFP
THE LUCKY ONES People wait outside the UNLV campus in Las Vegas, Nevada, after a man entered and shot three persons on Dec. 6. Las Vegas Metro Police said a suspect is dead. —AFP
