Shots Fired at University of Texas at Austin Campus; Gunman Dead

(Sept. 28) -- The gunman who opened fire today at the University of Texas' Austin campus before killing himself was a 19-year-old student, officials said.

The suspect was identified as Colton Tooley, a sophomore math major from Austin, university spokesman Don Hale told AOL News in a phone interview.

The suspect was wearing a ski mask and suit and carrying an AK-47 as he ran through the campus this morning, firing randomly before he went into the library and shot himself to death, according to officials and a witness.

No other injuries were reported, but police locked down the sprawling campus earlier as they checked reports of a second gunman.

The suspected gunman acted alone, UT Police Chief Robert Dahlstrom told The Associated Press. He told reporters earlier today that witnesses gave multiple descriptions of a second gunman, leading police to set up a perimeter to check whether there might have been a second suspect. Officials later ruled out another shooter.

"We're very fortunate in the fact that no one else was injured, other than the lone gunman that we know of at this point," Dahlstrom said.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said police also were searching to make sure no explosives were left behind.

Hale told the Austin American-Statesman that the university sent emergency text messages to students and faculty in the morning warning them to stay away from the Perry Castaneda Library and to remain indoors. According to an emergency alert on the university's website, the school remains closed and classes have been canceled.

Randall Wilhite, an adjunct law professor, said he saw the gunman outside the library.

"He was running down the streets firing random shots," Wilhite told CNN. "At first I didn't think it was gunshots." Wilhite said the man was 6 feet 2 inches, white and wearing a black ski mask, a suit and a dark tie.

"I didn't think it was real until I saw bullets strike the ground," he told CNN.

Kevin Olsen, a graduate student, told the American-Statesman that he heard bursts of gunfire and said students were walking around campus looking "kind of in awe."

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Jennifer Scalora, who works in the university's admissions office near the library, told NBC earlier today that the campus was empty except for the SWAT teams and police. "You can barely see anyone moving," she said.

In 1966, the campus was the site of a deadly shooting spree when Charles Whitman, a student, climbed the university's iconic Texas Tower and opened fire, killing 14 people and wounding more than 30 others.

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell told reporters that people in the rest of the city "can go forward and feel safe in their homes and safe in the rest of the city of Austin."