Gunman was professor who unsuccessfully sought job at UNLV: Report

The gunman who opened fire on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus Wednesday afternoon was a professor who had unsuccessfully sought a job at the school, according to reports.

The man shot and killed three people and critically wounded a fourth before he died in a shootout with police, authorities said. A law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that the shooter was a professor who recently applied to work at the college.

He previously worked for East Carolina University in North Carolina, according to the official. Authorities have not publicly identified the gunman or any of the victims.

The shooting broke out at about 11:45 a.m. local time Wednesday on the fourth floor of an academic building and then moved into the Student Union, police said. It led to a campus-wide evacuation and a lockdown at nearby schools for hours.

UNLV Police Chief Adam Garcia said the gunman was killed in a shootout with two university police detectives outside the building. Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill added that there “could have been countless additional lives taken” if police had not taken down the gunman.

McMahill noted that lessons from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting that left 60 people dead and more than 400 wounded helped authorities “seamlessly” respond to the shooting.

The shooting came the same day Senate Republicans blocked Democrats’ move to pass an assault weapons ban and universal background checks legislation — an effort that came after the United States surpassed the record over the weekend for most mass shootings in one year.

President Biden echoed his familiar call urging Republicans to help reform gun laws after the shooting.

“For all the action we have taken since I’ve been president, the epidemic of gun violence we face demands that we do even more. But we cannot do more without Congress,” Biden said in remarks.

The university has canceled classes through Friday.

The Associated Press contributed.