US university attacker dead after shooting at least three

At least three people were hospitalized after a shooting at a US university on Wednesday, police said, with the suspect dead.

The condition of the three victims was not immediately clear after the incident at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but it was the latest in a country where gun violence is a part of the fabric of daily life.

"No more threat to the community," Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said on social media.

"The suspect is deceased. Right now, we know there are 3 victims, but unknown extent of the injuries. That number could change."

Police said they had responded to calls around midday (2000 GMT), and indicated that officers had engaged a suspect on the campus, where gunshots rang out in at least two locations.

Television footage showed police military-style vehicles moving near containment lines, as well as dozens of young people being escorted through them.

One woman told local broadcaster KVVU that she had heard a series of loud noises and fled into a building on the campus, from which she was later evacuated by police.

"I was just having breakfast and then I heard three, like, loud booms," she told the station.

"Then two more, and then police showed up there and ran inside... but then after two minutes boom, boom, boom, more shots. So I ran into a basement, and then we were in the basement for 20 minutes."

Two hours after the shooting erupted, the university, which sits just a short distance from the heavily touristed Las Vegas Strip, continued to urge people to shelter in place, saying that police were working to clear each building in turn.

Last month the city played host to its inaugural Formula One Grand Prix, and in February it will be the scene of the Super Bowl, the showcase final of the professional American football season.

MG