UCLA shooting: 2 killed in murder-suicide
Two people were killed in a murder-suicide at UCLA on Wednesday, prompting a campuswide lockdown and forcing hundreds of terrified students to hide in buildings.
The situation was contained by shortly after noon, and there was no ongoing threat to to the campus, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said. He said police found a weapon, and no suspects remain at large.
UCLA said classes were canceled for the rest of Wednesday, but are expected to resume Thursday, except for the engineering school, where the death occurred. Classes there will resume Monday, officials said.
Beck said the shooting took place in a small office in the engineering building. He said he did not know whether the dead were students.
Authorities had received reports of an active shooter in or near the building, Los Angeles Police Officer Tony Im said.
Officials put the campus on lockdown as authorities investigated. Throngs of police with long guns patrolled the streets of the campus of more than 40,000 students.
SWAT officers and dozens of squad cars filled the area as police tried to clear campus buildings floor by floor.
Police respond to the shooting at UCLA
Freshman Teddi Mattox said she was in a cafeteria getting breakfast with about 100 other students when the shooting occurred.
"We got the alert and a woman said, 'This is not a joke, everyone get to the back of the dining hall because we have to stay away from the windows,'" she said.
"We're crowded back here, we've been here for at least an hour and a half. People are crying, they're nervous, they're shaking ... I have not stopped shaking for the last hour and a half."
UCLA officials said they will review all campus safety procedures.
"We're pleased in the way notification went out, troubled by some reports of unlocked doors, but we want to review everything," said Scott Waugh, UCLA's executive vice chancellor and provost.
UCLA has also extended counseling services over the next few days to serve all the students who may be in need, Waugh said.
Shooting at UCLA, campus on lockdown
Los Angeles police is still investigating the shooting, according to university officials.
News Courtesy: www.cnn.com
