An investigator uncovers a body at the scene where a gunman opened fire on a police officer serving an eviction notice near the Texas A&M University on Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in College Station, Texas. College Station Assistant Police Chief Scott McCollum says Brazos County Constable Brian Bachmann was among three people, including the gunman, killed in the shootout. AP/Houston Chronicle, Mayra Beltran
WASHINGTON – A policeman and another man were shot dead near a major US university on Monday before police shot the suspect and took him into custody, local police said.
Assistant Police Chief Scott McCollum said three more police officers and a female civilian were wounded in the shooting, which took place in College Station near Texas A&M University, which has nearly 50,000 students.
The gunman apparently fired on the policeman at a home a few blocks away from the campus, leading him to call for backup, McCollum said, adding the cause of the initial shooting was not yet known.
“A situation like this is very chaotic. We have a lot of information that’s coming in, we have multiple crime scenes, and we ask the public to be patient as we try to understand why this tragedy has occurred,” he told reporters.
McCollum said reinforcements rushed to the scene after the first shots were fired and battled the gunman, eventually wounding him and taking him into custody.
Another man was shot dead, and a woman was wounded and currently in surgery, McCollum said. One policeman was shot in the leg and taken to hospital, and two others suffered “non-life threatening injuries.”
The incident came in the wake of two recent mass shootings – one at a crowded cinema in Colorado and another at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin – less than three weeks apart that reignited debate over lax US gun laws.
The university issued a “Code Maroon” warning to students at 12:29 pm local time (1729 GMT), and said the shooter was apprehended 15 minutes later. It urged students to “continue to avoid the area.”
The incident took place around the 200 block of Fidelity Drive, a residential area a few blocks from the sprawling Texas A&M campus.