TUCSON, Ariz. — A junior college student was fatally shot on the University of Arizona campus after an altercation with a suspect who fled the scene, authorities said Monday.
The shooting was reported around 11 p.m. Sunday on the Tucson campus, and police were continuing to search for the shooter.
University police said the victim was found lying next to a car in a parking lot near the Arizona-Sonora dormitory and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities said the victim was a Pima Community College student. His name and age weren’t immediately available Monday and it’s unclear why the man was on the university’s campus.
Police said it appears the man was shot during an altercation on the volleyball courts east of the dormitory.
Witnesses described the shooting suspect to police as heavyset man in his early 20s who was carrying a small black handgun.
After the shooting, the university sent an alert out to students telling them to avoid the area.
UP TO SPEED
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
