UCLA shooting 2016 los angeles
Members of security are seen on June 1, 2016 at the University of California's Los Angeles campus ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Update 20.32: LAPD confirm gunman was one of two killed in apparent murder-suicide at UCLA. Danger now over.

At least two people have been killed after a gunman went on a rampage at a UCLA campus in Los Angeles. The gunman is thought to be a white male, about six foot tall, wearing a black jacket. The motive for the shooting was not immediately known. The campus was in lockdown while armed police searched the area around the Engineering IV building.

In a statement, UCLA said that the situation "is now contained." It said the lockdown has been lifted and the campus has reopened. However classes for the day have been cancelled. Classes are expected to resume tomorrow, it added.

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The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and SWAT are on scene, KTLA reported. They learned of the incident at about 10 am local time. Students were seen marching from the building with their hands above their heads as the search continued. In the initial confusion the university said the condition of the victims was not known but LAPD has now confirmed two deaths.

KTLA reporter Lynette Romero reported the arrival of bomb squads at the scene. The whole city was on tactical alert according to Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). According to Fox News the FBI are also at the scene.

"Two people were shot," university spokesman Tod Tamberg told the Los Angeles Times. Mehwish Khan, a 21-year-old psycho-biology student, told the newspaper she was hiding in the library with several other students. "The whole campus just started running and I started running too," she said in an interview over her cell phone as the sound of helicopters could be heard in the background. "Everyone was very confused. We got in a building, and no one knew what was going on."

UCLA student government vice president Rafi Sands, 20, from Oakland, said he and his classmates secured a door with their belts when reports of the shooting came through. At first they did not realise the alert was genuine. "We get a lot of Bruin Alerts for small things," said Sands. "It took a while for everyone to realise this is serious."

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