Three people were killed and one injured in a university shooting in Las Vegas, with the gunman shot dead by police. President Biden condemned the “horrific act of gun violence,” highlighting the urgent need for congressional action amid the pervasive gun violence epidemic in the United States.
Three people were killed and another seriously injured by a gunman who was shot dead by police at a US university on Wednesday.
The incident at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a short distance from the gambling hub’s tourist-packed Strip, was the latest in the United States, where gun violence is a part of the fabric of daily life.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill confirmed the deaths of three victims, with a fourth initially critically injured but later upgraded to stable. The identity of the shooter, reportedly a 67-year-old career college professor with ties to Georgia and North Carolina, was not immediately released, and his affiliation with the Nevada university remains unclear.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden decried the incident as a “horrific act of gun violence” on a college campus. Police responded promptly to reports of an active shooter at 11:45 AM, engaging the suspect in a shootout, resulting in the suspect’s death.
The incident unfolded during an outdoor gathering of students, but police have yet to release further information on the victims or the gunman. Mass shootings remain commonplace in the United States, with over 600 recorded this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Efforts to address gun control face staunch resistance, contributing to political paralysis despite widespread outrage over recurrent shootings.
Biden emphasized the abnormality of the situation, calling for increased action to combat the epidemic of gun violence and acknowledging the limitations without Congressional support.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
