What to Know
- Two bodies found inside a building -- police believe the deaths are the result of a murder-suicide. No other injuries reported.
- Students reported hearing between three and five gunshots.
- All North Lake College campuses will remain closed for the rest of the week; people are urged to avoid the area during the investigation.
A man took his own life Wednesday after shooting a woman multiple times in a hallway at North Lake Community College in Irving, sending the North Texas school into a lock down for more than an hour while police searched the campus for an active shooter.
The active shooter alert, with confirmed shots fired, was reported on North Lake College's Irving campus at about 11:45 a.m. About an hour later, police confirmed the bodies of two people had been found in what investigators suspect is a murder-suicide.
Lockdown at Northlake college pic.twitter.com/X1ZNlz9vtK
— hmz (@ZaboltF) May 3, 2017
On Wednesday night, Irving police identified the woman as 20-year-old Janeera Nickol Gonzalez. The suspected gunman has also been identified as 21-year-old Adrian Victor Torres.
Irving police have also confirmed that Gonzalez was found inside the Performance Hall Building at a common study area. Investigators said Torres was found inside a locker room shower stall in Building F.
North Lake College confirmed Wednesday night that Gonzalez was a current student at the sollege. School leaders confirmed that Torres is a former student.
Irving police said they were no longer looking for a shooter at the college just before 1 p.m. and that there appeared to be no continuing threat to students or faculty.
"North Lake students and employees followed lockdown procedures, and we are relieved that no one else was injured. We also offer our thanks to officers from the Irving Police Department, who partnered with North Lake College Police, to protect students and staff on campus," North Lake president Dr. Christa Slejko said.
Active shooter at Northlake College - avoid the area.
— Irving Police Dept. (@IrvingPD) May 3, 2017
Irving police said they continued a secondary search of the campus as the investigation unfolds. North Lake students exited the campus as each building was cleared.
Students at #NorthLakeCollege trying to figure out how to get home... their vehicles are still part of a large crime scene. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/aoPT3lTIbo
— Kris Gutierrez (@KrisGutierrez) May 3, 2017
"This is an emotional time for the North Lake family. We're heartbroken that such a tragedy has occurred on campus. We will address any needs for counseling on campus as soon as we re-open," said Slejko.
Slejko said there could have been between 4,000 and 5,000 people on campus at the time of the shooting.
Concerned loved ones outside of #NorthlakeCollege @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/kFG3wFaGlR
— Kris Gutierrez (@KrisGutierrez) May 3, 2017
Active Shooter at North Lake College in Irving
School officials said all North Lake College campuses will be closed until Monday. Irving police, which is leading the investigation, asked people to stay away from the campus while the investigation continues. School leaders said anyone who needs to retrieve personal belongings can visit the Central Campus Library and get a police escort from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday.
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North Lake College police confirmed shots were fired at North Lake's Irving campus, at 5001 North MacArthur Boulevard, at about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Nasrin Nanbakhsh, a tutor at North Lake College in the math learning center, said she walked out of her room in Building C into the hallway and saw a man shoot a woman multiple times.
"I saw a guy standing and there was a girl sitting on the chair. It happened too quickly. I saw him shooting her three times," she said. "We've been trained how to handle these types of situations. I immediately ran back to the room I'm working in, locked the doors and asked all the students to go back to the back room and to turn off the lights and be quiet."
Dani, a student at the school, told NBC 5 over the telephone that she had just arrived at the school and was walking down the stairs near the art gallery when she heard three loud pops.
"It sounded just like gunshots," Dani said. "We heard the first one and thought somebody dropped something ... but then it just kept going and everybody just started running."
"The only thing that went through my mind was just to run," Dani said.
Ro Olvera was barricaded in a classroom not far from the shooting and said her instructor said if anyone came through the door they would have to fight.
"My instructor, the whole time, was like, 'If he comes in, he’ll have to get through me first. But if it comes to that, grab a chair, throw at him, do anything you can. Fight.' So I did feel safe with our instructor," Olvera recalled.
Dennis Holmes, who is part of the faculty at the college and a freelance photographer with NBC 5, was on campus when the active shooter was reported. Holmes told NBC 5 by telephone he was locked down in a professor's office and was told by school officials to barricade the doors.
Despite the lockdown, a large number of students were seen frantically running from multiple buildings toward parking lots.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit stopped Orange Line service at the North Lake College Station until about an hour after the incident ended.
Two nearby Irving Independent School District schools, MacArthur High School and Singley Academy, were also placed on lockout during the incident. That restriction has since been lifted.
Gun owners with a valid LTC, licensed to carry, permit were permitted to carry weapons on the campuses of four-year colleges and universities in Texas effective Aug. 1, 2016. The law goes into effect for all community colleges on Aug. 1, 2017.
The law does not allow open carry, where the weapon is visible, or allow for the carrying of rifles and shotguns on campus.
Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As this story is developing, elements may change. NBC 5's Meredith Yeomans, Don Peritz, Ashley Barry, Kris Gutierrez, Tim Ciesco and Eva Parks contributed to this report.
