Two women dead, toddler wounded in shooting at Texas A&M-Commerce residence hall

Show Caption Hide Caption At least two dead in shooting at Texas A&M Commerce residence hall A criminal investigation is underway after a fatal shooting at Texas A&M University.

AUSTIN, Texas – Two people were killed and one wounded in a shooting spree Monday at a residence hall at Texas A&M-Commerce, the school said on its website.

University police Chief Bryan Vaughn said officers responding to a call at about 10:17 a.m. found two dead women in a room at Pride Rock Residence Hall. He said a boy about 2 years old was also in the room and was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition.

Vaughn did not take questions after a news conference and did not say if the women were students. Neither they nor the toddler have been identified.

Classes have been canceled through Wednesday, including those at remote locations and online.

The school said campus police were "actively investigating" the attack at the dormitory. A shelter-in-place recommendation was lifted about 90 minutes after it was posted on Twitter shortly before noon. Police have not identified the suspected shooter but said there appear to be no other threats.

"There have been two confirmed deaths," the school said in a statement. "The third victim has been taken to the hospital for treatment. UPD has stationed officers throughout the campus, including all key gathering points, for the safety of the campus community."

Texas A&M-Commerce, located about 65 miles northeast of Dallas, has an enrollment of approximately 12,000 students.

The precautionary shelter in place recommendations have been lifted. Due to the ongoing investigation, Pride Rock and surrounding areas are still blocked off. The Rayburn Student Center is available for students that may be displaced by the ongoing investigation.



Counselors are — @TAMUCUPD (@tamucupd) February 3, 2020

Freshman Larry Cooper told the Dallas Morning News he left his second-floor room in Pride Rock just before the shelter-in-place was announced. He was waiting in a friend’s room on the first floor of the residence hall.

“There’s police blocking the doorways, but other than that we’re all just kind of sitting in and waiting on the news to happen,” Cooper said.

A shooting at an off-campus Halloween and homecoming party near the campus three months ago left two people dead and 12 others injured. Officials had stressed that the party, with about 750 in attendance, was not a school-sanctioned event.

Authorities said at the time the gunman may have targeted one of the victims and the rest were either shot at random or injured in the ensuing chaos.

A suspect was arrested less than 48 hours after the shooting but he was later released for lack of evidence and cooperation from witnesses.

Contributing: The Associated Press