This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/02/us/ucla-shooting.html

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
U.C.L.A. Shooting Leaves 2 Dead U.C.L.A. Shooting Was Murder-Suicide, Police Say
(35 minutes later)
Two people were killed Wednesday in a shooting at a U.C.L.A. engineering building, the university said, and the police were sweeping the building, looking for a gunman. Two men died in a shooting Wednesday inside a U.C.L.A. engineering building, prompting thousands of frightened students and staff members to hunker down or run for shelter as the police went door to door searching for the gunman or any more victims.
Later in the day, the police said the gunman was among the dead.
“A homicide and a suicide occurred,” Charlie Beck, the Los Angeles police chief said. “It appears it is entirely contained. We believe there are no suspects outstanding and no continuing threat to U.C.L.A.’s campus.”
A gun was found at the scene, and Chief Beck said, “There is evidence there that could be a suicide note.”
Little information was available about the victims, the police said. It is unknown if they were students, employees or visitors.Little information was available about the victims, the police said. It is unknown if they were students, employees or visitors.
The U.C.L.A. police chief, James Herren, said at a news conference that the police were investigating the possibility that one of the dead was the gunman. “It is certainly possible that one of the victims is a shooter,” he said. The shooting took place about 10 a.m. inside a small office in the Engineering IV building, officials said. There were hundreds of people in the building at the time.
Chief Herren said that the police would continue to search until officers knew that the campus was safe. The campus was placed on lockdown, with text message and email alerts sent out to students and employees telling them to shelter in place or, if they were out in the open, to find shelter.
The shooting took place inside the university’s Engineering IV building, Chief Herren said. It was not until more than two hours later that the authorities declared the situation was resolved and officials began to lift the lockdown.
“Police are on the scene,” a statement from the university said. “The campus is on lockdown. People are being asked to shelter in place.” Earlier, police officers went building by building, escorting groups of people out who had their hands raised. The people then knelt on the ground as officers searched their backpacks and purses for weapons.
The suspect was described as a white male dressed in black, law enforcement officials said. Melanie Beecher, a first-year student, said she had reached her philosophy class shortly after receiving the first alert.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives were en route to the scene, the agency said. “Immediately we barricaded the doors, blocked openings with trash cans, turned off the lights, and pulled down the blinds,” she said. Ms. Beecher called friends who had not yet arrived, telling them to stay in their dorms.
The gunman was wearing a black jacket and black pants, the student newspaper, The Daily Bruin, reported, citing the police. “We have been getting frequent alerts and have been able to livestream the news,” she said.
The Daily Bruin reported that many professors had been asked by administrators to cancel classes in the next few hours. The lockdown meant that any student who left a dorm room was unable to re-enter it, even with a key.
Police officers cleared the building of students and staff members as they searched the building. Students could be seen coming out one by one, ordered to kneel as officers searched both them and their backpacks. “Our R.A. has instructed us to stay in our rooms no matter what,” said Izzy Gardner, a first-year student who spent the time in her room. “There are tons of rumors going around and it’s hard to determine what is true and isn’t true. People are pretty shaken up.”
Ceci Falktoft, another first-year student, was walking to a meeting with a professor, when she saw people running, she said. Without knowing why, she ran, too, learning about the shooting only after she asked others what was happening.
Ms. Falktoft ran to Powell Library, where staff members handed out snacks to the many people hiding or studying there and told them they could not leave.
The Los Angeles police, the university police, the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all responded to the incident. Hundreds of law enforcement officers scoured the building where the shooting occurred, and surrounding buildings.
s.