Students recounted scenes of panic after the alert was raised by the university, with many barricading themselves in classrooms or hiding in dorms.
“We were in the middle of class when we got (a text alert) and the professor just told us to lock the door really quickly and not to make any noise,” said Ricky, a student who did not want his last name to be used.
Many students and staff could be seen walking out of buildings with their arms raised. Others knelt down on sidewalks as officers patted them down for possible weapons.
A nearby elementary school and a middle school were also put on lockdown.
The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting and had asked his team to keep him updated on the situation.
The killings forced Brazil’s soccer team, which had planned to train at the university Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Copa America tournament, to find an alternate facility.
“In view of what happened on the UCLA campus, the team will not train at the university,” the Brazilian Football Confederation said in statement, adding that the training would take place at another sports complex in the city.
News reports of gun violence are part of daily life in the United States where readily-available firearms claim around 30,000 lives each year.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has called for “comprehensive gun safety reform,” although Obama’s efforts in that direction have been hobbled by America’s powerful gun lobby and Congress.
The National Rifle Association has endorsed the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who boasts that he is a “long-term” NRA member and one of 13 million Americans with permits to carry firearms.
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