Dayton vs. UNLV basketball game cancelled due to UNLV campus shooting

The men’s college basketball game on Wednesday night between the Dayton Flyers and UNLV Rebels was cancelled due to a tragic shooting that occurred on the UNLV campus on Wednesday afternoon. There was a single active shooter on the Rebels campus in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Three people were killed in the shooting and a fourth was critically injured, according to a report from CNN. Four victims were treated for panic attacks and two officers also had minor injuries. Two UNLV police detectives responded to the scene of Wednesday’s active shooting within minutes, and immediately engaged the suspect in a shootout, potentially saving the lives of dozens and students and faculty.

According to reports from the Associated Press, the shooter was a professor who previously worked at East Carolina University in North Carolina. They had unsuccessfully tried to get a job at UNLV.

The basketball game was originally set to be played at the University of Dayton Arena (Dayton, Ohio) on Wednesday night at 6 pm EST. Further information, such as potential rescheduling of the contest, was not immediately available.

The shooting was first reported on Wednesday in an UNLV alert to students and staff, warning them of shots fired near Beam Hall, home to the Rebels’ business school. “University Police responding to a report of shots fired in BEH evacuate to a safe area, RUN-HIDE-FIGHT,” UNLV wrote in their initial post, just before noon.

Police also reported additional shots fired near their Student Union, which is across the street from the Rebels’ business school. The shooter has been confirmed dead and “there’s no further threat”, according to a press conference held by Las Vegas Police on Wednesday evening. Authorities also currently have no answers as to what the motive was for the shooting.

Las Vegas Police posted on Twitter at 3:04 pm EST: “We are responding to preliminary reports of an active shooter on the campus of UNLV near Beam Hall. There appears to be multiple victims at this time. Please avoid the area and we will have more information soon.”

Dayton Basketball tweeted out a message at 4:28 PM EST. “Due to the tragic events unfolding on UNLV’s campus, tonight’s men’s basketball contest between UNLV and the University of Dayton will not be played. Further information will be released when available. We ask that our fans keep the UNLV community in their thoughts and prayers.” The UNLV Men’s Basketball Twitter account retweeted the message.

The Mountain West Conference tweeted out a statement on Wednesday evening. “The Mountain West is shocked and saddened by the tragedy at UNLV, and on behalf of our member institutions, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to the Las Vegas Community. The Mountain West is a family, and we all agonize when tragedy strikes one of our campuses or communities. We grieve for the senseless loss of life, and our thoughts are with UNLV during this difficult time.”–Mountain West Conference Commissioner Glorida Nevarez

The Rebels currently sit at 3-3 overall and Dayton currently sits at 6-2 overall. UNLV and other public colleges across the state of Nevada were closed for the rest of the day on Wednesday following the shooting. The game would have been the second ever meeting between the Flyers and Rebels. UNLV won the last meeting between the two teams (2022), 60-52. That one was played in Las Vegas.