North Carolina university shooting leaves two dead as gunman is arrested
Two people have been killed and others have been injured after a gunman went on a shooting spree around a university campus.
The University of North Carolina was put onto lockdown late yesterday afternoon after an alert was issued about a gun being fired.
The alert said: ‘Shots reported near kennedy. Run, Hide, Fight. Secure yourself immediately.’
Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services Agency said on Twitter that two people were found dead at the scene, two others have life-threatening injuries and two others have injuries that are not life-threatening.
Police later said a suspect had been taken into custody and they believe he was acting alone.
Aerial shots from local television news outlets showed police officers running toward a building, while another view showed students running on a campus pavement.
The university later reported that law enforcement officers were sweeping campus buildings.
It was not immediately clear whether the victims were students or whether a suspect was in custody. School officials could not be reached for immediate comment on Tuesday evening.
The campus was to host a concert at the school’s football stadium. The university has more than 26,500 students and 3,000 faculty and staff.
Sam Rice, a senior on UNC Charlotte’s tennis team, told Spectrum News that he was in the library studying for a final exam when he heard people yelling ‘shooter, shooter’.
He said he heard police yelling for people to stay down and stay on the floor.
He was ‘waiting for someone to tell us everything was going to be OK’.
When people were told to leave, he ran out in his socks, running over glass on the floor.
His reaction is ‘just shock,’ he told the television station. ‘It doesn’t feel real.’
Police at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte were going through campus buildings to tell anyone still sheltering in place that the scene is secure.
The Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services Agency has said two people were found dead at the scene, two others have life-threatening injuries and two others have injuries that are not life-threatening.