Two Dead in Murder-Suicide at UCLA; Campus on Lockdown for Hours

Sam ReismanJun 1st, 2016, 1:27 pm
 

Law enforcement responded to reports of an active shooting situation at the University of California-Los Angeles Wednesday at 10 a.m, as the campus went on lockdown and students were instructed to shelter in place. Two hours later, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck confirmed that a homicide and suicide had taken place, and the situation was believed to be contained.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. the campus began to reopen.

The LAPD confirmed that two male victims were dead.

Police sources had earlier told reporters that a suicide note and handgun were found near the scene, indicating a possible murder-suicide. Chief Beck did not confirm that police had found a suicide note.

The entire campus remained on lockdown for hours while everyone was being advised to shelter in place. The Los Angeles Police Department had told people to avoid the area.

School was in session at UCLA, which is on the quarter system. Wednesday was the last day of classes for many students. Finals were scheduled to take place through next week.

Shortly before 10 a.m. the university notified all students to go on lockdown if they were on campus via the school’s BruinAlert system, which disperses information via text message and email during a campus emergency.

A subsequent pair of messages that went out at 11:29 and 11:45 respectively advised students that the lockdown was still in effect. The alerts directed students to remain in place no matter where they were on campus and to not go outside unless instructed to do so by the campus police department.

Students on lockdown reported devising improvised methods for sealing the doors that could not be locked, including using chairs and belts.

Students sheltering in place at Kerckhoff Coffee House, in a building directly across the street from where shots were reportedly fired:

At an 11:35 a.m. press conference, UCLA Police Chief James Herren said it was possible that one of the victims was the shooter, but that was unconfirmed. The shooter or shooters were still potentially at large, he said. He said he was not aware of any injuries.

At an 11:05 a.m. presser, LAPD Captain Andy Neiman cautioned that many of the early reports were not confirmed and advised that misinformation was rampant in the early stages of an active shooter situation such as this. He said that there was no report of bombs and that he could not confirm any descriptions of the suspect. There were no people transported to hospitals as far as he knew, he said.

News helicopters showed several students being escorted by police, holding their hands up, as they left buildings. Police are reportedly going classroom by classroom to search for the shooter.

The LAPD bomb squad was reportedly on the scene. The FBI was also on the scene to lend support because they have a proximate field office. It is not an FBI investigation, the LAPD said at a press conference.

Livestream via NBC News:

The shooting is reporting to have taken place in an engineering lab at Engineering IV and Boelter Hall, two adjacent buildings in the center of campus.

The UCLA campus newspaper, the Daily Bruin, reports:

UCPD Lt. Richard Davis said students told UCPD they heard a loud noise and gun shellings drop. Davis added he did not know when students first reported the incident.

UCLA released a Bruin Alert about 9:52 a.m. informing students to find a secure location and lock entry.

A UCLA student describes what she witnessed:


According to the Daily Bruin the shooter is described as a white male about six feet tall, wearing a black jacket and black pants.

The first phone call to law enforcement was placed at 9:55 a.m. Pacific Time.

This story has been updated.

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