2 women dead, toddler wounded in shooting at Texas university
Two women died and a child was wounded in a shooting at a residence hall at Texas A&M University at Commerce on Monday.
The toddler is in stable condition, the university's police chief, Bryan Vaughn, said at a news conference Monday afternoon. Police found the women's bodies after a student who lives in the residence hall called police at 10:17 a.m. Central time. Vaughn said officers also found the injured child, about 2 years old, in the room.
Vaughn said there "appears to be no other threats."
Police did not identify a suspected shooter and did not provide additional details at the news conference. Authorities did not say whether the two women were students at the school, which is about 65 miles northeast of Dallas.
The shooting took place at Pride Rock Residence Hall - a three-story facility for first-year students, according to the Dallas Morning News. University officials said the hall and surrounding areas were still blocked off Monday night.
The university canceled all remaining classes for the day and placed police officers around school grounds. Classes, programs and events on campus were also canceled for Tuesday and Wednesday, university police tweeted.
Before confirming the deaths, the school said the university police department was "actively investigating" three gunshot victims and asked students and faculty to shelter in place. The shelter-in-place request was lifted about 1:30 p.m., after about two hours.
One student who lives in the hall told the Dallas Morning News that he happened to leave his room just before the shelter-in-place order was issued.
"If I hadn't left my room a few minutes earlier, I would be stuck in my room right now," said Larry Cooper, a freshman. "Anyone still on the second floor can't leave their room."
A&M-Commerce has about 6,000 undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate students, according to the school.