Feb. 05--An apparent murder-suicide left two people dead at the University of South Carolina campus on Thursday, according to local police.
In an alert posted to the school's website at 1:16 p.m. EST, officials said gunshots had been fired at the college's new public health school, located on the Columbia, S.C., campus.
The brief alert asked students to "seek safe shelter," but did not offer any information on injuries.
A spokesman for South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division later told reporters that the shooting appeared to be a murder-suicide, according to the Columbia Police Department's official Twitter account.
In a second message posted at 2:15 p.m., the school said there was "no longer an existing threat," but asked students to stay away from the area where the gunfire was reported.
It was not clear if the shooter and victim were associated with the school. Their identities were not released.
Calls to the campus police department and college representatives seeking additional information were not immediately returned.
UPDATES
11:47 a.m.: This article was updated with law enforcement officials confirming that the shooting appeared to be a murder-suicide.
11:19 a.m.: This article was updated with the college confirming there was no longer a threat on campus.
The first version of this article was published at 11:02 a.m.
