One Student Dead in Purdue University Shooting

Jan. 21, 2014— -- One student was killed in a shooting today on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and another student is in custody as the suspected shooter, authorities said.

Police said the victim was a male senior and also a teaching assistant.

Purdue University Police Chief John Cox said Cody Cousins, 23, of Warsaw, Ind., is being held in the Tippecanoe County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder.

Cousins is accused of shooting 21-year-old Andrew Boldt of West Bend, Wis., in the basement of the electrical engineering building around noon.

The suspect was apprehended moments after the shooting as he ran outside and was caught by West Lafayette, Ind., police, Cox said at a news conference.

Police are still investigating the motive behind the shooting, Cox said, but it appears Cousins targeted Boldt. No one else was injured.

Twenty to 25 campus police officers responded to the electrical engineering building within two minutes, Cox said. He noted the campus police and city police trained together for active shooter situations.

The shooting triggered a "shelter in place" text message alert for the rest of campus, students told ABC news. Classes were in session when the shooting occurred, Cox said.

Police said there was no ongoing threat to the university. The campus was reopened around 1:30 p.m., though the electrical engineering building remained closed.

"I'm off campus but near the [electrical engineering] building. You can hear the emergency sirens and there have been 30 to 40 cop cars surrounding the EE building over the last 30 minutes," Daniel Hatfield said.

Hatfield said that police searched other buildings in addition to the engineering building. He said students and teachers took the lockdown "very seriously."

Kevin Brown said he was in lockdown at the business school, nearly three-quarters of a mile away from the electrical engineering building.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.