University Of Maryland Shooting: Student Kills Roommate, Himself After Setting Fire To Apartment

A University of Maryland shooting has left one student dead and another one injured before the shooter turned the gun on himself.

Police said the fatal shooting took place at close to 1 am Tuesday in off-campus residences near the University of Maryland campus. Police believe the shooter had started a fire in the basement of the apartment, then shot roommates when they confronted him, The Associated Press reported.

Though details of the University of Maryland shooting were hazy at first, police later confirmed that it was a murder-suicide.

After the confrontation over the fire lit in the basement, all three men went outside, The Washington Post reported. There the student who allegedly started the fire shot one of the roommates. A second roommate tried to run away, but the gunman shot him as well, police say.

The alleged gunman then went to the back of the house where police say he turned the gun on himself.

“The University of Maryland community awoke this morning to heartbreak,” University of Maryland President Wallace Loh said in a statement Tuesday morning. “We are all shocked and saddened by this morning’s tragic events. We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers to the families and friends of the victims.”

The university made counseling centers available to students affected by the shooting.

“Ours is a university of great resolve,” Loh said. “Together, we will emerge from our collective sadness.”

Police had yet to release names of the victims from the University of Maryland shootings, waiting until their families could be notified. They say the second roommate shot is expected to survive.