Rhonda Weldon, a campus police spokeswoman, said a man fired an automatic weapon on the sixth floor of the Perry-Castaneda Library, then shot himself dead.
Police Chief Art Acevedo said police were investigating what he described as a second crime scene outside the library, where shots also were fired.
Robert Dahlstrom, campus police chief, said officials later ruled out the possibility of a second shooter, saying the initial confusion came about because the gunman had fired shots in multiple locations. He said the suspect wore dark clothes and a ski mask.
Randall Wilhite, an adjunct law professor at the university, said he saw “students start scrambling behind wastebaskets, trees, and monuments,’’ and then a young man carrying an assault rifle sprinting along the street.
“He was running right in front of me . . . and he shot what I thought were three more shots . . . not at me. In my direction, but not at me, clearly not at me,’’ Wilhite said.
The professor said the gunman had the opportunity to shoot several students and Wilhite, but he did not.
On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman went to the 28th floor observation deck at the clock tower and began shooting at people below. He killed 16 people and wounded nearly three dozen before police killed him. about 90 minutes after the siege began.
