Rose State College shooting: One dead, suspect in custody

Police say one person was shot and killed and that a suspect is in custody. Photo / AP

A man shot and killed another man at Rose State College in Oklahoma, according to police, who reported no other injuries after the campus was briefly put on lockdown.

Midwest City Police Chief Sid Porter said the men were “acquainted through a domestic situation”, but did not elaborate on exactly what their relationship was or what led to the shooting. He also did not say if either man was a student or staff member at the school.

The two-year college has about 13,000 students and is just outside Oklahoma City. Crime scene tape surrounded the humanities building in the centre of campus and officers from multiple law enforcement agencies were on the scene.

Porter said the victim was shot once and that the suspect was confronted by officers who work on campus.

“They ordered him to drop the gun, which he did, and they took him into custody.”

Kevin McCormack, a student from the suburb of Choctaw, said he was meeting a friend on campus when he heard gunfire. He said they looked over and saw a man hitting the ground, next to another man holding a gun and a woman who was trying to calm him down.

“Almost immediately, we said, ‘Go, go, go!’ and took off.”

Rose State College cancelled classes for the remainder of the day after lifting the lockdown order. A person who answered the phone at the university’s public safety office referred questions to police.

Porter praised students and staff for how they responded during the lockdown and noted that weeks before the shooting, Rose State College had practised what to do in the event of an active shooter.

“Things got locked down real quick,” Porter said. “I just think they did a fantastic job listening to the school and everybody staying down and not panicking because we didn’t know what was going on.”