(NewsNation) — One person is dead and a second injured after a shooting at a University of New Mexico residence hall.
Students and staff got emergency alerts Friday morning at 3:27 a.m. and 6:17 a.m. after a shooting at Casas del Rio student housing.
Cops rushed to campus and found two people who were shot, one of whom died. The second victim had injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
The shooter ran off, sparking a search that lasted almost 12 hours. Campus was closed, and students were warned to shelter in place.
Police later said that an arrest was made at around 2:30 p.m. Friday in Los Lunas, New Mexico, about 25 miles south of Albuquerque, but no details were released about the suspect or what led up to the shooting.
Jubilee Tasi, a freshman student-athlete, told NewsNation local affiliate KRQE that he and his friends were watching a movie inside the residence hall when they heard noises coming from outside the building.
“I just heard like three pops, three loud pops,” Tasi said. “We thought it was like gunshots or something, so we checked out the window and [saw] random people running around.
“We heard another popping, and then after that, we were just confused on what was going on, so we just called it a night, and then I went to sleep.”
The shooting came as the university hosted its new student orientation for approximately 400 students.
“Waking this morning to the news of this act of violence has shaken the entire UNM community,” New Mexico State Rep. Marianna Anaya said. “It is especially heartbreaking that this occurred during the time of a new student orientation — a time when students and their families should be filled with hope, excitement, and a sense of possibility.”
The school is set to wrap up the summer session August 9, with the fall term beginning on Aug. 18.