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DEVELOPING: Police are searching for a possible second suspect after a gunman fired shots before killing himself at the University of Texas in Austin.
A university spokeswoman said police received reports at approximately 8 a.m. of an armed suspect inside the school's Perry Castaneda Library.
Rhonda Weldon, the university's director of communications, said several shots were fired by a man with an AK-47 assault rifle inside the school's sixth-floor library.
Weldon said police then found a body inside the library that is believed to be the gunman.
"He has shot himself and is now deceased," Weldon told reporters.
She said no one else was injured and that investigators are trying to determine what led to the gunfire.
Weldon said authorities are now investigating reports of a possible second suspect on the sprawling campus. The suspect is believed to be dressed all in black, MyFoxAustin.com reports.
"We are asking everyone to stay off campus," she said.
An emergency alert warning of an "active shooter" and "shelter in place" was listed on the UT website more than an hour after the gunfire broke out inside the library.
The website says:
"A suspected shooter in PCL library is dead. Police are searching for possible second shooter. Lock doors, do not leave your building."
Witnesses reported seeing a man wearing business clothes and a mask walk into the library before the shooting, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Up to 10 shots were fired, witnesses told the newspaper, and the gunman appeared to be smiling as he made his way through the library.
On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman went to the 28th floor observation deck at the UT clock tower and began shooting at people below. He killed 16 people and wounded nearly three dozen before police killed him about 90 minutes after the siege began.
Austin police chief Art Acevedo told reporters that authorities are hoping to open the north part of campus within the next hour. Classes have been cancelled for the day. |
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